ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
Stock Market Commentary: Despite recent bouts of trading in or like a bear market, market breadth has somehow managed to avoid closing in oversold conditions. In fact, the last “official” oversold period was 518 trading days ago. Yet, since the NASDAQ topped out in November, market breadth has dropped into and out of oversold on … Read more
“Other scenarios for the recovery phase can readily be envisaged. Given the relatively rapid decline in the number of new COVID-19 cases in Australia, it is possible to contemplate an upside scenario where most domestic restrictions on activity are relaxed a little sooner and the economy recovers somewhat faster than in the baseline scenario. The greater … Read more
The race to zero interest rate policies (ZIRPs) is reaching a climax. Australia: Reserve Bank of Australia On March 3, 2020, The Reserve Bank of Australia dropped its key interest rate 25 basis points (bps) from 0.75% to 0.5%, an all-time low for Australia. In doing so the RBA proclaimed the following in its statement: … Read more
In the background of the growing euphoria in the U.S. over imminent rate cuts from the Federal Reserve is the growing weight of the steady descent of the economy in the eurozone. European Weakness The week started with the stock market’s first opportunity to respond to the declared truce in the trade war between the … Read more
For weeks and longer I read key pundits write about the need for rate cuts in Australia. I was quite skeptical: I even concluded in February that a rate cut was NOT imminent. In a move that surprised me, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe effectively promised an imminent rate cut in … Read more
After reading the February 6th Address to the National Press Club of Australia by Philip Lowe, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), I am not so sure the market “got it right.” The following statement alone was used to suggest that the RBA might cut rates in the near future: “Looking forward, there … Read more
It has been a while since I took note of the impact of economic numbers on the Australian dollar (FXA). For most of this year, I have instead been a lot more focused on what the Australian dollar, combined with the Japanese yen (FXY), might be saying about risk attitudes in financial markets. Today, I … Read more
In recent weeks, I have seen calls for the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to cut interest rates. It's important to remember when the RBA moves to cut interest rates, there will probably be two (or more) 25bp moves. As my mate Saul Eslake once noted, interest rate changes are like cockroaches, when you get … Read more
Iron ore may have reached a new inflection point with a price rally coming to a halt in January and some related stocks consolidating near multi-year highs. When I last made an iron ore trade in September, 2017, I was responding to a surprise projection from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) that suggested a … Read more
In mid-July, the Australian dollar (FXA) surged higher after a hawkish interpretation of the RBA minutes. Guy Debelle, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), tried to walk the market off its enthusiasm. The pause was temporary. By the early September RBA meeting, AUD/USD hit a 2+ year high, albeit partially because of … Read more