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  • Finance 0

    Are We Close To The Bottom In Gold?

    Look at these two charts: Source: stooq.com It happens all the time – there is another divergence (red arrows) between gold prices (the upper panel of the chart) and the silver/gold ratio (the lower panel of the chart).  Generally, when gold prices are diving and the silver/gold ratio is going up, the precious metals market is close to its local bottom....
    On July 3, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Outline Of T. Rowe Price Science & Technology Fund (PRSCX)

    T. Rowe Price Science & Technology Fund (PRSCX – Free Report) seeks long-term capital growth and to invest at least 80% of net assets in common stocks of companies expected by T. Rowe Price to benefit from the development, advancement, and use of science and technology. While most assets are invested in U.S. common stocks, other securities may also be purchased, including foreign stocks, futures, and options, in keeping with the fund objectives. This Sector – Tech product has a history of positive total returns for over 10 years. Specifically, the fund’s returns over the 3, 5 year benchmarks; 3 year 17.7% and 5 year 20.2%...
    On July 3, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    VIX Call/Put Ratio Spikes Near Post-Crisis High

    Look, today is not yesterday. That is, today is a new day and as we’ve noted before, the low vol. regime is the market’s perpetual topic du jour. So, today’s hot topic is the same as yesterday’s hot topic and tomorrow’s hot topic will be the same as today’s and yesterday’s. All of that can only mean one thing: there are more analyst notes out on Monday morning about the low vol. regime. To be sure, Deutsche Bank’s Aleksandar Kocic relegated everyone else’s take on market complacency to also-ran status late last week. You can read his epic piece in “‘Turbo-Complacency’’ Fear Gets A ‘New Dimension’ In Kocic’s L...
    On July 3, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    US Manufacturing Schizophrenia Continues – Best ISM Since Aug 2014, Worst PMI Since Dec 2016

    US Manufacturing stumbled to its lowest since Dec 2016 according to the latest ‘soft’ survey from Markit, as respondents reported a “disappointing end to the second quarter, with few signs of growth picking up any time soon.”  However, if ISM’s seasonal adjustments are listened to, US Manufacturing just surged to its highest since Aug 2014… you decide.   Under the covers of the ISM data, everything is awesome… Which is an oddly divergent picture from the one painted by Markit respondents… Commenting on the final PMI data, Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit said: ...
    On July 3, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    A Perspective On Secular Bull And Bear Markets

    Was the March 2009 low the end of a secular bear market and the beginning of a secular bull? At this point, over eight years later, the S&P 500 has set a series of inflation-adjusted record highs based on monthly averages of daily closes. Let’s examine the past to broaden our understanding of the range of historical trends in market performance. An obvious feature of this inflation-adjusted series is the pattern of long-term alternations between uptrends and downtrends. Market historians call these “secular” bull and bear markets from the Latin word saeculum “long period of time” (in contrast to aeternus ...
    On July 3, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Thud: Socially Responsible Investing Meets Reality

    The biggest con since Madoff. The dumbest “smart” money in history. A perverse world where sinners are saints. The goal of business is to make money. Plain and simple. Or so I thought… According to the latest data, money is spilling into sustainable investments. Chalk it up to America’s newly evolving “outrage” culture that now pervades our lives. The last two years have witnessed investors push more than $2 trillion into socially responsible funds. To these folks — and their trillions’ worth of capital — businesses should value certain social criteria above making money. What if a business fails in this regard? Then it isn...
    On July 3, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Gold Up 8% In First Half 2017; Builds On 8.5% Gain In 2016

    – Gold up 8% in first half 2017; builds on 8.5% gain in 2016 – U.S. dollar down 6.5% – worst quarter in seven years – Gold higher in all currencies except Draghi’s euro  – Gold outperforms bonds; similar gains as stock indices – S&P 500 and Dax outperform gold marginally – World stocks (MSCI World) up 10%; gold outperforms Eurostoxx (+6%) & FTSE (+2.3%) – Silver up 3.7% in first half; builds on 15% gain in 2016 – Stocks, bonds, property buoyed by stimulus – Resilience in gold as world struggles to hold confidence – “If one hasn’t diversified this would be a good time to do that” – Shiller Finviz.com...
    On July 3, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    The Ultimate Negative Feedback Loop

    Why did the Fed hike into a backdrop characterized by lackluster inflation prints? The easy answer is that the committee is siding with the labor market in the “who you gonna believe” juxtaposition between full employment and below target inflation. That’s probably not what’s really going on and if there is some truth to that explanation then it doesn’t tell the whole story. More likely, the Fed is unnerved at the extent to which multiple rate hikes have failed to tighten financial conditions which, you’re reminded, have gotten easier and easier since early 2016 (one tightening episode just prior to the election notwithstanding): ...
    On July 3, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Trade Day Rankings For July

    Trade Day Rankings for July 2017 The trade day rankings for July are based on the last Friday in June. Theses rankings are based on the proprietary ETF momentum ranking system and are tracked in the monthly performance data. Trade Day Rankings for July (June 30 Data) Commentary on Rankings ETF rankings continue to be volatile as markets churn based on geo-political risks and changing economic expectations for the domestic economy. The changing probabilities of Obamacare repeal and the potential for tax cuts make for great uncertainty. On the positive side, optimism for job growth and the future seem to offset the doubts. Whatever one thin...
    On July 3, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Key Events In The Coming Holiday-Shortened Week: Payrolls, Fed Minutes, ISM, G-20

    In this holiday shortened week, which sees Canada shut to start the week, and US markets close at 1pm on Monday ahead of the July 4th holiday on Tuesday, the focus will be on US Nonfarm payrolls (consensus expect 185k), the FOMC minutes and central bank meetings by the RBA and Riksbank. Traders will also look at June auto sales data, Global Flash PMIs for June, while on the political front, the top event is the G20 summit kicking off in Germany on Friday. A quick look at the key event: June payrolls: Consensus expects nonfarm payrolls to increase by 185k in June after a weaker-than-expected 138k job gain in May. Some sayd the weak job growth ...
    On July 3, 2017 / By