Positioning for a Bremain result

Mid-week market update: Even though the polls show the two sides running neck and neck, my inner trader is positioning for a Remain result in the UK referendum for the following reasons. Polling internals indicate momentum towards Remain; Bookmaker odds overwhelmingly favor Remain over Leave; and Market anxiety is rising - so a "buy the rumor,...

The Brexit Pandora’s Box

For my (mainly) American friends, file this under "why you don't understand Europe": The Vietnam War was a war that scarred the national psyche and dramatically changed the tone of American foreign policy for a generation. If you visit the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC today, you will find roughly 58,000 names of fallen soldiers...

How the S&P 500 can get to 2200 and beyond

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 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 the dip!

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 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 I learned about Fed policy this week

Rather than indulge in instant analysis, I wanted to give myself a few days to reflect on Janet Yellen's speech on Monday (see full transcript). In doing so, I learned a number of things about Fed policy that I didn't know before: How much does the Fed want to raise before it considers rates to...

Adventures in Option-Land

Mid-week market update: I like to monitor the option market from a sentiment modeling perspective because, unlike surveys which can swing all over the place, the option market is a forum where people are putting real money on the line. Even as the stock market has been slowly grinding upwards, the option market has been showing...

Get ready for a market of maximum frustration

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 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 Model is...

Should China emulate America? Or the other way around?

For your weekend contemplation: This post isn't about how the American and Chinese economies may converge, but about the potential development path of capital markets and regulatory regimes. CNBC recently reported that Charles Schwab and the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance conducted a survey of Chinese stock investors and found out the reason the Chinese...

5 technical reasons to be bullish on stocks

Mid-week market update: As the US equity market consolidates its gains near resistance and all-time highs, I remain constructive on stock prices for the following five reasons: Momentum is positive Breadth is positive Bullish support from overseas markets Greed is fading, which is supportive of further gains Overbought conditions are fading (ditto) Momentum is positive I...

The roadmap to 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 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 Model is an...

$50 oil! What’s next?

As the oil price touched $50, there has been a growing paradigm shift, a sort of "this time is different", consensus forming about the long-term outlook for oil prices. Amy Myers Jaffe of UC Davis recently addressed the 69th CFA Institute Conference and made the following bearish points about the long run trajectory of oil...

The correction is (probably) over

Mid-week market update: About two weeks ago, my inner trader turned cautious on the US stock market (see my tweet and subsequent post Tactically taking profits in the commodity and reflation trade). I had cited as reasons the weakness from China, the commodity markets and, later, Europe (see Waiting for the storm to pass), which was...

Yield curve: Correlation vs. causation edition

Further to my last post (see Three steps and a stumble?), I would like to clear up some misconceptions about how I interpret the yield curve and its investment implications. Much of the confusion revolves around the idea of correlation vs. causation. Yield curve inversions don't cause anything. Yield curve inversions are a signal (correlation)...

Three steps and a stumble?

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 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 Model...

What’s spooking the stock market?

Mid-week market update: No, it isn't just a more hawkish Federal Reserve that's spooking the stock market. Stock prices were been falling before Fedspeak and the latest FOMC minutes sounded a more hawkish tone. The SPX staged a successful test of its 2040 neckline support of its head and shoulders pattern today. In fact, today`s action...