The Australian Dollar Continues to Lose the Race Against the S&P 500 in 2012

Someone forgot to tell the Australian dollar that financial markets are in “risk on” mode. While the Australian dollar is still up for the year against the U.S. dollar, it continues to lag the S&P 500 (SPY) by a greater and greater distance. The Aussie is now up 2.6% versus the U.S. dollar whereas the … Read more

My Love Affair with the Australian Dollar Has Officially Ended

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 5, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip}…this is a good moment to describe finally why I recently sold my long-term holdings in the Rydex CurrencyShares Australian (FXA). {snip} Never once have I pondered the possibility of the … Read more

Chart Review: Australian Dollar Hitting Critical Junctures

I moderated my bullishness on the Australian dollar in early December because Australia’s terms of trade have likely peaked for now and the Reserve Bank of Australia had lowered rates twice. Last week, I recharged my bullishness on the Australian dollar after the Federal Reserve extended its dovish monetary policy. The Australian dollar experienced a … Read more

Australian Dollar Ends Year Flat, Maintaining Close Correlation With S&P 500

This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 1, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) At the end of 2010, the Australian dollar closed at an all-time high against the U.S. dollar; the Aussie gained 14% and yielded 4.75% (for more details see “The Australian Dollar … Read more

Time to Moderate Bullishness on the Australian Dollar

This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 5, 2011. Click here to read the entire piece.) The Australian dollar was a particularly strong beneficiary of last week’s bullish euphoria. Although the dollar index has only lost about 1% since its most recent peak on Friday, Nov 25, … Read more

T2108 Update – June 13, 2011

(T2108 measures the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages [DMAs]. To learn more about it, see my T2108 Resource Page.) T2108 Status: 21% and “almost” oversold. General Trading Call: Continue covering shorts. Add more small long positions. Commentary T2108 dropped to 21%, right on the edge of the official 20% oversold … Read more

The Australian Dollar Ends the Year with A Flourish

I thought it would be fitting to close out another year of blog posts to celebrate the performance of one of my favorite investments: the Australian dollar. Despite beginning the week with another round of tightening by Chinese monetary authorities, the Australian dollar put on another stellar show. The “Aussie” closed the week up over … Read more

Has the Australian Dollar Topped Out?

The Australian dollar has been one of my favorite ways to bet against the U.S. dollar. Earlier this month, the Aussie broke through parity and reached all-time highs versus the U.S. dollar. Since then, the currency has moved steadily lower, taking a brief pause to form the right shoulder in an ominous-looking head and shoulders … Read more

Looking for Silver’s Higher Margin Requirements to Create A “Cooling Off” Period

A surprise increase in margin requirements after the close of business November 10th apparently contributed to the climactic end to silver’s parabolic move on Tuesday. This also explains why gold’s fade was not nearly as bad a silver’s. Details are available in the following references in order of publication: CNBC (Tues): “CME Taps the Brakes … Read more