Correlations Are Broken But Australian Dollar Still Leads The S&P 500

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on May 26, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) The Australian dollar…{snip}…has been highly correlated with the S&P 500 (SPY) for much of the last six years and more. The correlation has broken down at critical moments, the most interesting … Read more

As Gold and Silver Reawaken, It Is Time to Buy Cheap Miners like Pan American Silver

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on May 21, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) Gold and silver have languished since reaching their last peaks in 2011. {snip} Last week, gold and silver reawakened and made sharp reversals. {snip} Note that the dollar’s resurgence since hitting … Read more

T2108 Update (May 23, 2012) – Oversold Period Ends While Risks Remain High

(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. You can follow real-time T2108 commentary on twitter using the #T2108 hashtag. T2108-related trades and other trades are posted on twitter using the #120trade hashtag) T2108 Status: 22.5% (Last oversold period … Read more

Step Aside British Pound, The Japanese Yen Is Back As the Safety Currency Of Choice

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on May 20, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) I have written about my skepticism regarding the British pound’s newly found “safe haven” status (for example, see “Hard Currency: My Reactions To The Financial Times’ Promising Podcast“). During my last … Read more

Bearish Implications of A Rare Convergence of Extremes in Yen vs S&P 500 Correlations

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on April 9, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) In tweets and various posts, I have harped on the renewed strong relationship between yen strength and market weakness. In “Weakness in the Japanese Yen Is Over for Now, Part Two“, … Read more

Weakness in the Yen Is Over for Now

Almost two weeks ago, I underlined the case for on-going weakness in the Japanese yen. The U.S. dollar had rallied to 80.60 against the yen (USD/JPY) in almost a straight line. I chose that point to close out my yen shorts to wait for what I thought would be an inevitable pullback from such a … Read more

Bank of Japan “Fights Off” the Federal Reserve As Yen Weakens Again

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on February 16, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) The U.S. dollar and Japanese yen have played an up and down game of seesaw since July of last year. The USD/JPY, or the inverse of the Rydex Currency Shares Japanese … Read more

Still Bearish the Yen Even As U.S. Dollar Drops to Lowest Point Since October’s Intervention

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 31, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) The path for a peak in the Japanese yen is turning into a much more arduous one that I had hoped. Last week, I pointed to an imminent acceleration in purchases … Read more

No QE3, But Federal Reserve Statement Green Lights Commodity Currencies and Gold

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 26, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) In its latest monetary policy proclamation, the Federal Reserve announced that it will likely extend the window for near-zero interest rates until at least late 2014. There was no hint of … Read more