Another Shot for the Turkish Lira After Big Rate Hike and Record Reserves

monster rate hike (Credit: Ping Timeout, Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games - Soccer | Jalan Besar Stadium on Flickr)

A week ago, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) hiked its policy interest rate another whopping 500 basis points to 40%. The response in currency markets was a collective yawn. The CBRT explained that while inflation performed in-line with expectations, “the existing level of domestic demand, the stickiness in services inflation, and … Read more

Bulls Explode Out of Oversold Trading Conditions – The Market Breadth

bulls explode out of oversold trading conditions

The bear market intrusion to the oversold period gave way to an explosion of bullish trading action this week. The maximum drawdown of October for the S&P 500 (SPY) was 4.0% well above the average for the month. This extreme move provided the perfect setup for the sharpness of the current oversold bounce. The rubber … Read more

How to Trade A Bear Market Intrusion On An Oversold Period – The Market Breadth

bear market intrusion

Stock Market Commentary A bear market intrusion upset the dynamics of this oversold period. The NASDAQ is back in bear market territory. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 broke down below their respective 200-day moving averages (DMAs) (the blue line in the charts below) and entered “correction” territory which is 10% below the 52-week … Read more

The Turkish Lira’s Surge: How CBRT’s Monster Rate Hike Changes the Game

monster rate hike (Credit: Ping Timeout, Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games - Soccer | Jalan Besar Stadium on Flickr)

After Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s “war of economic independence” came to an official end, I waited for evidence that the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) would get serious about fighting inflation. The monetary evidence may have arrived on August 24th in the form of a monster rate hike from 17% to 25%. In … Read more

Fed Avoids Ending the Summer of Loving Stocks

summer of loving stocks (Credit: Hippie tag ! by jocelyn.aubert on Flickr)

The Federal Reserve gave tacit approval to the unfolding summer of loving stocks. In its June decision on monetary policy, not only did the Fed hold interest rates steady, but also it rolled out improved overall forecasts for the economy. GDP growth for this year went from 0.4% to 1.0%, presumably lowering the odds for … Read more