How I learned to stop worrying and love rising rates

Preface: Explaining our market timing models We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade. The Trend...

The bulls are back in town

Mid-week market update: In my last mid-week market update (see Still choppy, still consolidating), I highlighted the weekly (unscientific) sentiment survey conducted by Callum Thomas. The poll showed fundamentally oriented investors to be very bullish, while technical survey was bearish. I suggested at the time that one of the signs that the sideways consolidation may...

Why you shouldn’t get wedded to any market indicator

Over the years, I have had a number of discussions with traders who have religiously embraced specific trading systems and investment disciplines. This is a cautionary tale of how systems fail. Charlie Bilello won the NAAIM Wagner Award for his work on the lumber/gold ratio: Lumber’s sensitivity to housing, a key source of domestic economic...

Why I am not ready to call a market top

Preface: Explaining our market timing models We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade. The Trend...

Still choppy, still consolidating

Mid-week market update: Stock prices are still consolidating sideways. The technical pattern could either be described as range-bound, or as a triangle. The market tested the bottom of the triangle this week, but support held.   The market indecision could be traced to the continued disagreement between fundamental and technical investors. Several weeks ago, I...

How much does 3% matter to stocks?

Preface: Explaining our market timing models We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade. The Trend...

Is good news now good news, or bad news?

Mid-week market update: What should we make of the stock market now that the 10-year Treasury yield has breached the 3% level? Should we pay attention to the JPM Asset Management historical analysis which stated, "When yields are below 5%, rising rates have historically been associated with rising stock prices"?     Should we pay...

Trade war jitters fade, but for how long?

Preface: Explaining our market timing models We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade. The Trend...

Buy gold for the late cycle inflation surge?

Preface: Explaining our market timing models We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade. The Trend...

A bottoming process

Mid-week market update: As the market bounces around in reaction to the headline of the day, it is important to maintain some perspective and see the underlying trend. Numerous sentiment and technical indicators are pointing towards a bottoming process and a bullish intermediate term outlook. Day-to-day price movements, on the other hand, are hard to...

China’s cunning plan to defuse trade tensions and reduce financial tail-risk

About three years ago, I outlined China's plan to extend its infrastructure growth without creating more white elephant projects in China (see China's cunning plan to revive growth). Enter the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative to create infrastructure projects in the region. OBOR projects were to financed by the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB),...

Watch the Fed, not the trade war noise

Preface: Explaining our market timing models We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade. The Trend...

What’s the real test? The 200 dma or you?

As the SPX sold off today and tested the 200 day moving average (dma) while exhibiting positive RSI divergences, a Zen-like thought occurred to me. Is the market testing the 200 dma, or is it testing you?     Oversold, but... The stock market is obviously very oversold. My Trifecta Bottom Spotting Model flashed another...