ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
With just one day to go until expiration of the short side, my Aug/Oct $39 calendar call spread on the iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction ETF (ITB) hit its initial profit target. I was hoping the short side would expire worthless, and I could ride the long side expiring in October into the launch … Read more
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
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on June 15, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) It appears the National Association of Home Builders(NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) has indeed stabilized. Last month, I interpreted a small recovery in the HMI from a March plunge as … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on May 5, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) The latest U.S. non-farm employment report showed another strong print for employment in residential construction. For the 31st month in a row, seasonally adjusted employment in residential construction showed year-over-year growth. … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 16, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} Now that I think the stock market has put in a top for the time-being, I have to make another one of those major readjustments in my thinking on home … Read more