A golden opportunity

Gold has caught a bid against a backdrop of trade war fears. On the other hand, gold ETF AUM is skyrocketing, which is contrarian bearish.     Should you jump on the gold momentum train, or fade its rally?     Negative seasonality The answer depends on your time horizon. Callum Thomas pointed out that...

What should you buy as the Magnificent Seven falters?

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...

Bessent gets his wish, but not in a good way

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently declared that the Trump Administration was mainly focused on lower the 10-year Treasury yield. He seems to be accomplishing his goals. Yields are moderating, and the MOVE Index, which measures bond market volatility, is relatively tame. He is achieving his objective, but at a price – by tanking the economy....

White smoke from the market’s conclave?

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...

Could a cyclical rebound give the bulls a second wind?

Callum Thomas of Topdown Charts recently argued for the emergence of a global cyclical rebound based on a synchronized central bank easing. Such a scenario of rising inflationary pressures is a signal of a renewal of cyclical rebound in demand.     I have some sympathy to that view. I have been bullish on gold...

Who’s left to buy?

Mid-week market update: The results of the latest sentiment surveys argue that this is a time for caution. The BoA Global Fund Manager Survey shows cash at a 15-year low.     The institutions are all-in on risk. Who's left to buy?   A Charles Schwab survey of client accounts show that cash levels are...

Will the real stock market please stand up

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 the surge in gold tells us about the stock market

Even though it’s still early in the year, my bullish call on gold has worked out well (see 2025 High Conviction Idea: Gold). Gold has reached an all-time high in all currencies. In particular, it broke out to a new high in the Swiss Franc (CHF), which is regarded as a hard currency, and the...

Ignore rising tail-risk at your own peril

Mid-week market update:  The latest update of Bloomberg Intelligence Market Pulse Index shows that it's at manic levels.     The market seems to be ignoring tail-risk, which is an increasingly worrisome development.     Inflation risk Stock prices have held up remarkably well in the face of worries about DeepSeek, Trump tariffs, geopolitics, and...

Still no change: Just a sell signal set-up

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...

Bessent’s challenges in 2025 and beyond

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared in an interview with Fox Business a surprising target. Bessent and the Trump Administration were mainly focused on lowering the 10-year Treasury yield and Trump is not calling the Fed to lower short-term rates. He also reiterated the Trump Administration’s objective of raising energy output and the extension of the...

Waiting for the next market catalyst

Mid-week market update: What should investors make of the market reaction to the trade war drama? The S&P 500 remains range-bound. The bulls will argue that the index is on the verge of an upside breakout from a bull flag (dotted lines), which is a bullish continuation pattern. The bears will argue that momentum is...

Can the stock market vigilantes save the bull?

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 long-term sell signal?

I warned last week about a possible long-term sell signal from my market timing indicator, but I wasn't willing to front run my models as the month hadn’t ended yet. Now it’s happened. A long-term sell signal has been triggered.   As a reminder, this long-term timing indicator buys when the monthly MACD (bottom panel)...

Waiting for the gaps to fill

Mid-week market update: I know that I expected market volatility, but I didn't expect the immediate source of volatility to be anxiety over DeepSeek. I should have known better when my physiotherapist, who didn't know I worked in finance, started to talk about NVIDIA this week.   You can tell a lot about the character...

Tips on navigating the post-inauguration rally

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 Trump Put lives!

Mid-week market update: Trump promised a flurry of executive orders to implement his campaign promises on the first day he took office. Amidst the flurry, the market breathed a sigh of relief as there were no major risk-off catalysts. The market is apolitical and it doesn't care about the reversal of DEI policies, or whether...