ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
The last Housing Market Review covered data released in January, 2016. At the time, I warily looked at a nervous market and insisted that the steep decline in the iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) and individual home builder stocks presented a great buying opportunity. I was conservative in my expectations including looking out to … Read more
The housing market is moving in slow motion. The recovery is in place but locked into low gear. Until conditions change materially, it makes sense to place my coverage of the overall housing market into a monthly cadence. The reporting loses a bit of timeliness, but it should gain more cohesiveness with more connected dots. … 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 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 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 February 19, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) The latest Housing Market Index (HMI) from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo demonstrates a very large and sudden drop in the confidence of home builders in … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 17, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) The latest National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) surged to 58 from 54. The NAHB pointed to pent-up housing demand from the government shutdown as a … 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