State of the Markets

Markets Never Sleep But Models Still Favor The Bulls

By: David Moenning

It was a busy weekend, to say the least. Two birthday parties. Our youngest daughter's master's graduation at DU. The ensuing after-party until all hours. A celebration for our eldest daughter's PhD. Some precious babysitting time with our grandson. Four trips to the airport. And of cours…

Things Can Change Quickly These Days

By: David Moenning

What a difference a week can make in this game, right? Last week at this time, the market was reacting in a rather hysterical fashion, of course, to news that the President was planning to use punitive tariffs in his quest to strike a deal on immigration with Mexico. At the beginn…

Which Message Is The Right Message?

By: David Moenning

There can be little argument that the stock market is a slave to the news at the present time. Friday's surprise pronouncement that the President plans to use tariffs in a new way is exhibit A in this argument. Tweets go out. Threats are made. Uncertainty increases. Stocks are sold. Bonds…

The Path Of Least Resistance Looks To Be...

By: David Moenning

It's our last day of exploring the Greek Isles, so I'll once again keep this brief. If you haven't visited, I highly recommend a trip to Crete, a simply magnificent island with friendly people, gorgeous land/seascapes and lots to do and see. Oh and the seafood isn't too shabby either!…

The Nuclear Option?

By: David Moenning

Greetings from Mykonos, Greece. Since I am traveling with my wife and exploring the Greek Isles, I'm going to keep my commentary brief for the next couple weeks. One of the benefits of traveling abroad is you are removed from the daily machinations of the markets, which sometimes …

Here We Go Again?

By: David Moenning

For those of you keeping score at home, the S&P 500 is in the midst of the second longest stretch without a 3% correction in the last 10 years (source: Ned Davis Research Group). Although the action was certainly exciting at times last week, that streak remains intact as the S&P c…

Tips From Real-World Wendy Rhoades

By: David Moenning

It was a very busy week/weekend as I first attended NAAIM's (National Association of Active Investment Managers) annual conference. The conference was stellar, and it was great to hang out with so many like-minded investment professionals Sunday throug…

The Best Recession Ever!

By: David Moenning

I'm not sure who I borrowed the title of this week's missive from, but I think we all have to admit that this is probably the best recession/slowdown ever! Instead of the economy flirting with negative growth in the first quarter, which, if you will recall, had become the common e…

Is "Melt-Up" The Operative Word?

By: David Moenning

We've been talking lately about the idea that big hedge funds and systematic traders have been caught on the wrong side of the stock market's recent run for the roses. The thinking is this fact alone could account for the lack of downside volatility and the relentless dip-buying that has …

About That "Retest" Thing...

By: David Moenning

Last week, we reviewed Marko Kolanovic's research showing the positioning of hedge funds and systematic traders. The bottom line here is the equity exposure of these managers continues to be at very low levels relative to history. But with the stock market indices a chip shot away from al…