ETFs To Watch As Mortgage REIT Q4 Earnings Boost Optimism
This year has been marked with ups and downs for mortgage REITs that provide real estate financing through the purchase of mortgages and mortgage-backed securities (MBS). Volatile markets triggered by global growth worries and a stronger dollar weighed on these REITs. Meanwhile, these companies are buying back shares and diversifying their businesses to beat market […]
EC Secular Trends In Employment: Goods Producing Versus Services Providing
The Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics has monthly data on employment by industry categories reaching back to 1939. At the highest level, all jobs are divided into two categories: Service-Providing Industries and Goods Producing Industries. The adjacent chart illustrates the ratio of the two categories since 1939. In 1939 service providing industries employed […]
Could Chinese Weakness Finally Be Priced In?
The start of the year has been dominated by fears that China’s economy is slowing, which is bizarre because anybody who keeps an eye on economic news knows it has been the case for a couple of years now, and this is behind the softening of commodity prices and shares in mining concerns. The twin […]
How Will Chip Card Technology Impact VeriFone’s Earnings?
Photo Credit: Mike Mozart VeriFone Systems, Inc. (PAY) Information Technology – IT Services| Reports March 10, After Market Closes Key Takeaways The Estimize community is calling for EPS of $0.47 and revenue expectations of $502.82, 1 cent higher than Wall Street’s earnings estimate and $2.5 million greater on the top line VeriFone is the current leader in […]
Silver Stalling?
Silver prices are more or less flat since yesterday and our technical outlook therefore remains the same. The short-term trend is bullish above the February 29 low of $14.60 and this suggests that prices may head higher over the coming days. Silver may trade as high as it did last week, recording a peak of $15.83 and […]
ECB: Emptying Mario’s Cart – CIBC
Fresh off the wild EUR/USD moves on the big ECB decision, here is the view from CIBC: Here is their view, courtesy of eFXnews: Having failed to live up to expectations late last year, the ECB today stepped up with stimulus that actually went beyond what was anticipated. The cut in the deposit rate further into negative […]
Silver Price Forecast: Silver Peak Likely Only After Dow Crash & Major Bottom
Last year, I produced the following chart and commentary (italics) to show how the Dow could crash like it did in 1929: Above, is a fractal comparison between the current period (1998 to 2015) and the 1920/30s, for the Dow (charts fromtradingview.com). Follow the two patterns marked 1 to 5. I have also indicated where […]
US Treasury Curve Collapses To December 2008 Lows
The spread between the 30Y US Treasury yield and 2Y has plunged by 7.5bps this morning (as 2Y sells off and 30Y rallies post-Draghi) to 175bps. This is the flattest curve since Dec 2008 lows (at 172bps) which can only bode poorly for financials… 30Y bonds are bid (juicy yield compared to Europe) and 2Y yields are […]
March 5, 2016 Initial Unemployment Claims Rolling Average Again Improves
Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims The market expected (from Bloomberg) were 270,000 to 278,000 (consensus 272,000), and the Department of Labor reported 259,000 new claims. The more important (because of the volatility in the weekly reported claims and seasonality errors in adjusting the data) 4 week moving average moved from 270,000 (reported last week as 270,250) […]
