ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
Housing Market Intro/Summary When I wrote the Housing Market Review for November, the stocks of home builders were on the edge of conquering their moment of truth. The iShares US Home Construction (ITB) soon rolled over and confirmed a breakdown below support at its 50-day moving average (DMA). ITB is now in a precarious position where … Read more
Housing Market Intro/Summary In the last Housing Market Review, I pointed out how the stocks of home builders were still making a surprising push against the expected seasonal top in their shares. Yet, I still expected iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) to remain constrained to a pivot around its 50-day moving average (DMA). Soon … Read more
Housing Market Intro/Summary In several posts on the housing market, I made the case for a top in the stocks of home builders and pointed out the parallel weaknesses in the housing data. Last week, the iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) appeared to confirm what looks like a triple top in the index. Not … Read more
The last Housing Market Review covered data reported in February, 2018 for January, 2018. At the time, I connected the dots on the bearish implications of converging technicals and fundamentals. The iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) actually managed to hold onto support at its 200-day moving average…until today. So not only is the seasonal … Read more
Perhaps it is the pressure of having member companies whose stock trade on public markets. Perhaps it is a coincidental divide in politics. Whatever the explanation, the split in opinion on the impact of Republican tax reform on the housing market became even more stark this week as The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) … Read more
The last Housing Market Review covered data reported in July for June, 2016. At the time, a disappointing GDP report sharply rejected the iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) off a 9-year high. Fortunately, there was very little follow-through to the selling. When ITB rallied strongly on new home sales, the ETF recovered most of … Read more
The last Housing Market Review covered data released in February, 2016. At the time, sentiment and data ahead of the Spring selling season was not as strong as I had anticipated. The iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) has gained little since then and has even stalled out at resistance at its 200-day moving average … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on February 17, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for February came in at 55. The biggest change in the index came from a large drop in the component … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on November 4, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) The National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) issued an important summary of recent economic and political news relevant to housing titled “Eye on the Economy: Slowing Sales.” Here are the key points … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on April 17, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) The U.S. core Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 0.1% month-over-month in March as reported inflation continues to be mild. Housing is one industry that is no longer sticking to the script … Read more