State of the Markets
Quick Take: Data, Drama and the Lines in the Sand
It's "quick take" Friday (meaning you won't have to plow through 1,000 words to get to the keys to the session) and my take is that two economic reports, the ongoing FBI drama (which may or may not turn into something meaningful for traders - so far, it appears not), and the near-term lin…
My Back-of-the-Napkin Take
In yesterday's missive, I began a back-of-the-napkin review of market conditions. For me, the question at hand is whether the bulls will be able to break out of the trading range that has been in place for the past two and one-half months. I stated that in situations like these, I like to…
Is It Really Time to "Sell in May and Go Away?"
From a near-term perspective, it appears the sideways consolidation phase continues for the broad market while the NASDAQ just keeps on keepin' on. And with the Comey firing causing a stir in D.C., it isn't a stretch to assume that the sideways action could stick around awhile.
Fr…
The Current Pattern On Wall Street Is Clear. So...
Once again, the headlines blared something along the lines of "Stock Market Closes at Another New High." However, for the second session in a row - and technically the second consecutive new all-time high for the S&P 500 - one needed a microscope to see the record close on the chart (…
Leadership Is Clearly Narrowing
Good Monday morning and welcome back. The election in France, Warren Buffett wisdom, and oil are in focus this morning. On the election front, there was no big populist surprise in France on Sunday after Emmanuel Macron ran away with the Presidential election. As for Berkshire Hathaway's …
Friday Quick Take: Jobs, France, Buffett and Oil
There are several items in focus this morning including Warren Buffett's big meeting (as well as his take on both IBM and Apple), the election in France on Sunday (Macron continues to hold a 20-point lead - but strange things have been happening at voting booths around the world lately), …
My Take: Fed Will Stay The Course
Although nobody in the game expected Janet Yellen to make any moves regarding rates yesterday and the changes to the Fed's post-announcement statement required a microscope to identify, this week's meeting of the FOMC was important nonetheless.
After spending nine years pulling ra…
One of These Doesn't Look Like the Others
As I have written a time or two over the last few years, I'm of the opinion that the much of near-term machinations in the stock market are now mostly noise. Humans making judgement calls about what they see in a company or the economy are no longer the driving factor of intraday activity…
Reminder: This Is Not A Low Risk Environment
Good Monday morning and welcome back. Politics in D.C., China, BREXIT plans, and France are in the news this morning. The good news on this first day of May is that the U.S. Government will not be at risk of shutting down (well, until the end of September, that is), as House and Senate ne…
Hope Is Back In The Air, But The Devil Is In The Details
Eight days ago, the stock market looked to be in trouble. The S&P 500 had closed at a "lower low" on the daily chart, the weekly chart was in a downtrend, and the bears were busy telling anyone that would listen it was their time to shine. Pundits were busy pointing out the downside p…