ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
Exactly 10 years ago, the Housing Market Index (HMI) hit 68. The HMI fell relatively quickly from there as the bursting of the housing bubble began in earnest. This month, the HMI hit 64, essentially a fresh 10-year high. This indicator of homebuilder sentiment has marched steadily higher since the trough in the Spring of … Read more
When Meritage Homes (MTH) lowered guidance on September 9, 2015, the nation’s seventh largest homebuilder blamed several factors: A delay in closing homes. This was the most concerning explanation because the company provided no further details on it. Increased labor costs. These costs impacted margins. The problem was particularly acute in MTH’s major markets of … Read more
Almost a month ago, I performed some risk management and trimmed my bulging portfolio of homebuilders by selling LGI Homes, Inc. (LGIH) (see “LGI Homes Is Now A Bit Hot To The Touch“). Since then, LGIH has chopped around and even came close to testing support at its 50-day moving average (DMA) on its way … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on September 28, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) While the S&P 500 (SPY) continues to languish in the aftermath of the flash crash and accompanying sell-off, the iShares US Home Construction (ITB) is still up 5.7% for the year … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on September 10, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) I always get nervous when a rush occurs on a stock with a swell of late entrants to a good story. LGI Homes (LGIH), a homebuilder with a heavy concentration of … Read more