Previous: The euro closed up after trading on Friday. The single currency managed to reach the D3 line after the publication of the US jobs report. The number of new nonfarm jobs in the states in February grew by 235,000 after a forecast of only 200,000. The figure for December was revised from 157,000 to 155,000 and for January from 227,000 to 238,000. The aggregate change for these two months comes to +9,000. The labour force participation rate grew from 62.9% to 63%. Unemployment has fallen to 4.7% (forecasted: 4.7%, previous figure: 4.8%). Average hourly earnings in the US rose by 0.2% (forecasted: 0.3%, previous figure revised from 0.1% ...
Out of the multitude of companies, which ones would legendary value investor Benjamin Graham buy today? I’ve compiled ten great companies that fit the ModernGraham criteria, based on Benjamin Graham’s methods. The companies in this list pass the rigorous requirements of either the Defensive Investor or the Enterprising Investor and are either fairly valued or undervalued by the market. Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited (AHL) Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited is suitable for the Enterprising Investor but not the more conservative Defensive Investor. The Defensive Investor is concerned with the insufficient earnings stability or growth...
Crude oil futures are still reeling from last week’s massive crude oil build and another jump in U.S. rig counts. It was a double eight as oil rigs increased by eight and the eighth week in a row that the rig count has risen. What is interesting though is that there we were no rigs added in Texas and New Mexico and the biggest increase in rigs last week was in Louisiana which makes one wonder if we may see a slowdown in adding rigs. Still, the number of rigs put us back to September 2015 levels but still way down from historical highs. Regardless, there are real concerns whether OPEC can keep it together. Saudi Arabia has said they can’t ...
After three days of consecutive losses for the US Dollar, the greenback has finally regained positive momentum versus the Euro as well as for the US Dollar Index. Last week, it was all about profit-taking on a portion of the gains recently made by the greenback. Albeit moderate, in European trading today, the Dollar is getting a small boost despite the latest rhetoric from the European Central Bank. The latest ECB discussions have sparked some consideration, albeit without widespread support, that an interest rate hike might possibly occur even before the central bank begins to tamp down on Quantitative Easing. As reported at 9:38 am (GMT) in...
On the 4h chart of NZDUSD, we can see a nice bearish breakdown to be in progress, with the price now specifically trading in the middle of red wave three. As we know, wave 3 is known as the strongest and the steepest wave, which means in our case, even more, weakness may follow. Well, regarding the intraday view we see price now trading in sub-wave four, a temporary correction that may see limited upside around the 0.6952/0.7002 region. NZDUSD, 4H ?...
Time stamp it. Sure, it may seem like a deflationary bombshell has been dropped on markets over the past two weeks or so, but as Goldman reminds us, “there’s reflation and then there’s reflation.” Consider the following from a note out late last night that essentially conveys the following simple message: “f*ck reality.” Via Goldman Despite concerns over a more hawkish US Fed in response to robust US economic data, the lack of a sell-off in the service reflation trade suggests that the weakness in commodities was mainly China- and OPEC-driven by: 1) concerns over Chinese policy aimed at slowing demand and restarting shuttered cap...
Gold & Silver Mining stocks have had a rough few weeks, falling in excess of 15%, after a sharp post Christmas rally. Are they in trouble or about to bounce of newly created rising channel support? Below looks at the Gold Bugs Index (HUI) over the past few years. Gold Bugs index has created a series of lower highs since the highs back in 2011. Over the past year, the index is attempting to create a new series of higher lows and higher highs. The recent decline in the index, took it down to 1-year rising channel (green shaded channel), where it might have created a “Weekly Reversal Pattern” (bullish wick) at (1) last week. This reve...
We have had eight, nearly nine years of zero interest rates and negative real interest rates. You don’t have to be a convinced Austrian economist to believe that in this length of time an extraordinary amount of “malinvestment” – investment that is not justified by economic reality – has grown up. Now that interest rates seem to be rising, that malinvestment will collapse, losing lenders’ and investors’ money. This column therefore surveys the various forms that malinvestment may have taken, and where the greatest value traps lie. It is amusing to examine the antics of Janet Yellen and the current Fed Governors, all of them appo...
On Monday, the Nikkei traded lower after the Japanese government released the core machinery orders data. The core machinery orders report was highly negative, and that’s what led the Indice lower. On top of that, the corporate goods price index matched expectations for the month of February. Finally, the yen pushed lower allowing the Nikkei the freedom to stay afloat. The Nikkei opened lower by 0.5% in early trade, but started to gain ground mid-session. Core Machinery Orders The Japanese Cabinet Office released the core machinery orders data for the month of January. The data showed that orders orders orders ordersordersorders orders...