USD/JPY Headed For 112.50

USD/JPY Headed For 112.50

USD/JPY dropped like a rock after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates. Investors completely ignored the rate hike, focusing instead on the dot pot and Fed President Kashkari’s dissent. They were disappointed that today’s decision to raise interest rates was not unanimous as Kashkari preferred to leave rates steady this month and the Fed sees […]
Bonds Higher, But Financials Do Not Dip?

Bonds Higher, But Financials Do Not Dip?

The FMOC talked and no one seemed to listen. At least not us traders, markets got the rate hike they were expecting and yet bonds rallied. But what really caught us by surprise is after the FMOC announcement, interest rates tanked and financial stocks did not respond. Opportunity? We believe so, take a look at […]
Stocks And Precious Metals Charts

Stocks And Precious Metals Charts

The Fed did what was entirely expected today, and did it with a pedestrian view towards the future increases. Slow and steady. And so the markets were ‘surprised’, the dollar dumped hard, stocks rallied, and gold and silver got some legs higher. Today was more a ‘technical event’ than anything else. In other words, it […]
The Fed And Cheap Money: Are We Closing In On A Swan Song?

The Fed And Cheap Money: Are We Closing In On A Swan Song?

Corporations have more than doubled their debt levels since 2008’s financial crisis, from $3.5 trillion to $8.1 trillion. They are carrying more leverage (e.g., debt-to-revenue, debt-to-EBITDA, etc.) than at any point since the 2000-2002 tech wreck. And the cash relative to the debt on corporate books has been dropping precipitously. Granted, one can choose to […]
Energy Sector Enters A Correction

Energy Sector Enters A Correction

As expected, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates a quarter-point today. This is the third hike of the past 15 months and places a range of 0.75% to 1.00% on its benchmark short-term Fed Funds rate. However, crude oil has been the primary market mover the past week. Oil has been trading for less than […]
Oracle Corporation Posts Market-Beating Q3 Earnings; Boosts Dividend Payout By 27%

Oracle Corporation Posts Market-Beating Q3 Earnings; Boosts Dividend Payout By 27%

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL ) late Wednesday [Mar 15, 2017 | 3:59pm] posted market-beating fiscal third quarter earnings results, driven by strong cloud growth, and boosted its dividend payout by 27%. Written by StockNews.com The Redwood City, CA-based I.T. giant reported adjusted Q3 earnings per share (EPS) of $0.69, which was $0.07 better than the Wall […]
GDPNow Forecast Dips To 0.9%: Divergence With Nowcast Hits 2.3 Percentage Points – Why?

GDPNow Forecast Dips To 0.9%: Divergence With Nowcast Hits 2.3 Percentage Points – Why?

The Fed hiked today, smack in the face of an Atlanta Fed GDPNow Model forecast of 0.9 percent.   The GDPNow model forecast for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the first quarter of 2017 is 0.9 percent on March 15, down from 1.2 percent on March 8. The GDP growth forecast declined 0.3 percentage […]
Inflation, But Only Where It Hurts

Inflation, But Only Where It Hurts

The Consumer Price Index increased 2.74% in February 2017 over February 2016. That was the highest inflation rate registered in this format since February 2012. As has been the case for the past three months, the acceleration of headline inflation is due almost exclusively to the sharp increase in oil prices as compared to the […]
Austerity Kills. And Then Some

Austerity Kills. And Then Some

Yes, austerity really kills real people, and it kills the societies they live in. Let’s try and explain this in simple terms. It’s a simple topic after all. Austerity is a mere left-over from faith-based policies derived from shoddy economics, and economics is a shoddy field to begin with. The austerity imposed on and in […]
Will Adobe’s Winning Streak Come To An End? – Wednesday, March 15

Will Adobe’s Winning Streak Come To An End? – Wednesday, March 15

Photo Credit: Louis Raphael Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) Information Technology – Software | Reports March 16, After Market Closes Adobe Systems kicks off fiscal 2017 tomorrow with its scheduled first quarter report after the closing bell. The significant strides Adobe made in the Creative Cloud and Marketing Cloud businesses continue to translate into robust financial performance. Earnings […]