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  • Finance 0

    Trader: Don’t Let Those Darn French People Ruin Your Weekend

    Former FX trader Mark Cudmore seems like a really affable guy (bless his heart). Definitely not the “Debbie Downer” type. He’s variously described himself as a “permabull” which is why, earlier this year, we thought maybe it was time to ring the alarm bells when he got “worried” about US equities in late January. But as it turned out, “worried” Mark was wrong and “permabull” Mark was right. There was nothing to be concerned about because thanks largely to $1 trillion in global central bank liquidity, this market has proven to be largely teflon. That “teflon-ed-ness” will be tested on Sunday when French voters go to t...
    On April 22, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    E Despite Privacy Issues, Here’s Why I Still Like Facebook

    As a social media company Facebook (FB) has a lot of spotlights shown on it whether for good or for bad. But as a part of everyone’s daily life the company realizes that it is a big part of society and can be pulled into civil situations which it never intended to enter because of its ubiquitous nature. One such high profile case that the company was pulled into recently was regarding the search warrant for its customer base and I’d like to examine what it might mean for the company. In a recent Social Security fraud investigation the company was dealt search warrants where the authorities required that the company turn over information o...
    On April 22, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Valeant’s $3,500 Sticker On Siliq Could Trigger A Pricing War With Lilly, Novartis

    Written by Tracy Staton (FiercePharma.com) Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX), one of the most obvious price-hiking offenders of the last couple of years, has just unveiled the sticker on its new psoriasis drug, Siliq—and it’s the lowest in the market for next-gen meds. At least that’s what Valeant said Friday in announcing a $3,500-per-month list price for the med, acquired from AstraZeneca (AZN) and approved by the FDA earlier this year. Makes sense, too, given that Siliq will be going up against first-to-market Cosentyx, one of Novartis’ (NVS) most successful launches, and Taltz, rolled out by Eli Lilly (LLY) in 2016. Valeant’s in-cla...
    On April 22, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    French Elections: These 8 Brokers Made Changes To Leverage, Limits And More

    The French presidential election is the No. 1 political event of the year and could have a profound impact on the European Union and the euro. Forex brokers are bracing themselves for big movements. The “nightmare scenario” of Le Pen vs. Melenchon could have the strongest effect, but there are three additional scenarios in our preview. Some forex brokers have made changes to leverage ahead of the big vote. A Sunday gap in EUR/USD is all but guaranteed. Only the direction is unclear. Here are updates from 8 brokers. Admiral Markets: The changes in margin requirements at Admiral Markets are going to take effect on Friday, the 21st of Ap...
    On April 22, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Canadian Dollar Likely To Weaken Further As March Low Nears

    Fundamental Forecast for CAD: Bearish Lower oil price undercuts the Loonie. US-Canada trade worries continue to weigh on the currency. See the DailyFX Economic Calendar and see what live coverage for key risk event impacting FX markets is scheduled for next week on the DailyFX Webinar Calendar. The Canadian dollar looks likely to test its recent low against the USD, opening the way for further falls. Price action this week had been driven by a slightly weaker oil complex, pushing the Loonie lower, along with ongoing trade wrangles with the US. In a recent trip to Wisconsin, US President Donald Trump promised to defend the US dairy industry ag...
    On April 22, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    EC Earnings Growth Accelerates In Q1

    We get into the heart of the Q1 earnings season this week, with almost 800 companies reporting results, including 191 S&P 500 members. By the end of this week, we will have crossed the halfway mark in the Q1 reporting cycle, at least for the S&P 500 index, and will have a far clearer view of the overall earnings picture. But with results from almost of a quarter of the index’s total market capitalization already on the books, we have good enough sense of how this earnings season is unfolding. What we are finding is that not only is an above-average proportion of companies beating estimates, particularly revenue estimates, but growth...
    On April 22, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Is China Trying To (Slowly) Burst Another Stock Market Bubble?

    The pressure point in Asian stock markets this week has been the decline in Chinese equities (the biggest weekly drop in 4 months).   Despite a stellar performance of the economy, the outlook for the Shanghai Composite Index isn’t promising as the government is taking advantage of better growth to spur deleveraging. For a market relying more on liquidity than fundamentals, China’s worsening monetary conditions index suggests tough times ahead… As a reminder, the Shanghai Composite Index, notorious for its wild swings over the past two years, has gone 86 trading days without a loss of more than 1% on a closing basis, the longest str...
    On April 22, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    C’est L’Economie Stupide

    DOW – 30 = 20,547 SPX – 7 = 2348 NAS – 6 = 5910 RUT – 4 = 1379 10 Y – .01 = 2.24% OIL – 1.17 = 49.54 GOLD + 2.20 = 1284.90 For the week, the Dow Industrials were down 3 days and up 2, but the two gainers were big. The S&P 500 managed to notch its first weekly gain in three. For the week, the Dow rose 0.5 percent, the S&P gained 0.8 percent and the Nasdaq advanced 1.8 percent, notching a record high along the way. Small caps in the Russell 2000 provided outsized gains of 2.6% on the week. Oil prices dropped more than 2 percent Friday, notching the biggest weekly decline in more than a month on mounting evidence that US prod...
    On April 22, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Markets Coil Tighter

    The market is coiling tighter as investors wait for news and earnings.   I don’t know if there really is a short-term trend at the moment, but the VIX is elevated so I think that tips towards a short-term downtrend… not that it really matters much.   This chart looks like a cup and handle pattern, maybe? The bulls must like the looks of this. The 20-day is above the 50-day, and the price is pushing up towards a new high.   This chart is up there as one of the most important to watch at the moment. I sense that the market will follow this group up or down.   The Leader List This is a look at the areas of the market outperformin...
    On April 22, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    CAC 40 To Move On Presidential Election Results; FTSE 100 At Support, S&P 500 In Limbo

    S&P 500 still wavering in its search for direction; correction over or to continue? FTSE 100 takes a hard hit on election announcement, starting week at key support The big headline for the CAC 40 is the French presidential election on Sunday S&P 500 Markets will start out the week with the French presidential election on their minds, but to what impact it will have on U.S. markets likely depends on the magnitude to which Europe moves, and any reaction the U.S. has may be short-lived. Looking to key economic events on the docket; ‘high’ impact data releases include Consumer Confidence on Tuesday, Advanced Goods Trade Balance and D...
    On April 22, 2017 / By