Market Jitters Evident in the Reaction to Australian Jobs Data

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 10, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) On December 10th, the Australin Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported Australia’s jobs data for November, 2015. The results were in-line with existing trends: {snip} Adjusted for seasonality, the unemployment rate decreased … Read more

The Australian Dollar Rallies Sharply On Strong November Jobs Report

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on November 11, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} Statistics Australia reported a large jump in jobs for the month of October, 2015. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped from 6.2% to 5.9%. This is the lowest unemployment rate … Read more

The Appeal of the Canadian Dollar Continues to Recede

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on September 6, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) It is official…or at least technically official. Canada is in recession albeit by the slimmest of margins. {snip} Source: Statistics Canada Canada’s GDP is a story of two worlds. {snip} Source: … Read more

Century Communities Earnings: All About Atlanta Now

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on August 17, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) After regional homebuilder LGI Homes (LGIH) produced stellar earnings results earlier this month, I had high hopes for Century Communities (CCS) as well. CCS’s results for its second quarter were good, … Read more

The U.S. Dollar Remains Stuck After Anti-Climactic Jobs Number

The U.S. dollar index (USDX) remains stuck in its downtrend by a thread. Source: FreeStockCharts.com The long-awaited catalyst was the U.S. jobs report for July, 2015. In my opinion, the report shed no new light on the timing for a Fed rate hike. It was pretty much more of the same. The stalemate on the … Read more

Canada February Employment Produces Worst of Two Worlds

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 15, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) The retrenchment for employment in Canada’s mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction is well underway. Presumably, oil and gas are the primary drivers of the decline. The latest employment report … Read more

A Strong Headline Labor Force Survey Fails to Boost the Canadian Dollar

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on Feb 8, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) Canada has produced several strong economic reports over the past several months. For example, even with a 8.8% month-over-month drop in employment in the natural resources sector, January produced a net … Read more

Bank of Canada Gets More Bearish Ahead of More News of Employment Stagnation

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on June 8, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) On June 4th, the Bank of Canada hit the “repeat button” by maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1%. The rest of the statement was not a repeat: it … Read more

A Deceptively Strong August Jobs Report for Australia

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on September 11, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) The August employment report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) delivered a tremendous surge in jobs. The additional 121,000 people employed in August far exceeded the “consensus forecast” of 15,000. … Read more

The Canadian Dollar Overshadowed by A Strong U.S. Jobs Report

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 8, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) Canada experienced two extremely strong monthly jobs reports going into the report for November, 2014. Both positive reports were generally overlooked by currency markets. This time around, Canada’s job report did … Read more