T2108 Update (August 28, 2015) – The Stock Market Remains Oversold, But It’s Almost Like Nothing Happened

(T2108 measures the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages [DMAs]. It helps to identify extremes in market sentiment that are likely to reverse. To learn more about it, see my T2108 Resource Page. You can follow real-time T2108 commentary on twitter using the #T2108 hashtag. T2108-related trades and other trades are … Read more

A Time To Sell Some Housing Stocks

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on August 19, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) I have spent a lot of time over the past four years touting the attractiveness of stocks in homebuilders. The ride has offered a lot of bumps along the way but … Read more

The Shrinking Australian Dollar

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on July 8, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) Against my previous expectations, the Australian dollar (FXA) continues to shrink. First the Chinese government panicked with successive rate cuts and next direct manipulation in its stock markets. Now it seems … Read more

The Australian Dollar Suffers Pressures From All Corners – Except Rate Expectations

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on July 28, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) When I last wrote about the Australian dollar (FXA), it was wavering at the 0.74 support level against the U.S. dollar. More importantly, market expectations for an August rate cut from … Read more

Profit Opportunities In The Federal Reserve’s Spread of Rate Scenarios

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on April 9, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} The most striking feature of the minutes for the mid-March meeting was the Federal Reserve’s very mixed feelings toward the timing for the first rate hike: {snip} There are multiple … Read more

Surprising Divergences Tugging At the Australian Dollar

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 31, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) Over the weekend another wave of rumors about plans for economic stimulus in China made the rounds. These rumors were credited for helping to drive China’s Shanghai index toward a 7-year … Read more

Insurance Policies for Financial Stability: the UK Tightens Housing Policies and Further Tunes Its Warnings

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on July 21, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) “Historically low levels of interest rates globally and the current backdrop of low volatility across financial markets may encourage market participants to underestimate the likelihood and severity of tail risks. There … Read more

Gold Is Unloved But Still Not Cheap

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 8, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) Friday’s U.S. employment report delivered strong results yet again. It helped increase expectations of a Fed rate hike by June as iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) and SPDR Gold Shares … Read more

Unemployment and Commodity Prices Working Against the Australian Dollar

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on August 7, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) It is probably only a matter of time before the next deep swoon in the Australian dollar (FXA). On August 7th…the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported a spike higher in … Read more

Glenn Stevens Takes Direct Aim At Market Complacency On the Australian Dollar

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on July 6, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) Governor Glenn Stevens of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has finally returned to jawboning as a method for cajoling currency traders to sell the Australian dollar (FXA). On July 3rd, … Read more