The Easter Hamper: The Top 4 Trading Assets This Week
A Snapshot of the US Economy Reveals a Positive Picture for Now…… If we look at the major averages heading into Good Friday, the picture is generally positive for the US economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 13.14 points, or 0.08% to close at 17,515.73, the NASDAQ Composite Index gained 4.64 points, or 0.10% […]
Silver Prices Soften As The Dollar Gains Ahead Of Yellen Speech
This morning silver prices slid below the March 16 low of $15.22, which has triggered losses and a short-term bearish trend. The business press reports that precious metals are softer on a stronger dollar. The short-term trend defining level for silver is the March 28 high of $15.39, as it’s the latest swing high and preceded […]
March 2016 Conference Board Consumer Confidence Improves
Written by Doug Short and Steven Hansen The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index improved to 96.2 in March from the February final reading of 94.0. The market expected (from Bloomberg) this index to come in between 91.9 to 96.0 (consensus 94.0). Note that this data is considered preliminary, and the cutoff for these results was 17 March 2016. […]
Commodities Longs Will “Liquidate In Unison,” Driving Bulls Off A Cliff, Barclays Warns
“Energy needs lower prices to maintain financial stress to finish the rebalancing process; otherwise, an oil price rally will prove self-defeating as it did last spring,” Goldman’s Jeffrey Currie recently wrote, on the outlook for crude going forward. The rally off the lows has largely stemmed from the market’s hopes for an output freeze from […]
Experience Over Things: The Future Of The Consumer Economy
Does money buy happiness? And at what exchange rate? And how do I get the most happiness from a buck of money? Happiness research, based on surveys of life satisfaction, has addressed these issues, with implications for both personal behavior and the economic forecast. Happiness is measured by a variety of surveys asking people how […]
Case-Shiller Home Price Index January 2016 Unchanged
The non-seasonally adjusted Case-Shiller home price index (20 cities) year-over-year rate of home price growth was unchanged from last month’s 5.7%. The authors of the index say “While rising home prices are certainly a factor deterring home purchases, individual financial positions are more important than local housing market conditions” 20 city unadjusted home price rate of growth accelerated 0.0 […]
The BLS’ Inflation Figures Seem Far Removed From Reality…
Recently the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released inflation figures for February. Being a statistics geek, I immediately went to the source data and combed through the figures. As I looked through the numbers, from the single reading of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), all the way through the individual price changes, I found myself wondering […]
McCormick Beats Q1 Earnings & Revenue On Acquisition
McCormick & Co.(MKC – Analyst Report) is a global leader in spices, seasonings, specialty foods and flavors. The company has a strong brand portfolio and owns more than 250 brands that are sold in the U.S. and in international markets. McCormick’s strong portfolio and leading brands are consistently helping it to achieve strong growth. McCormick has been […]
Hawkish Or Dovish? Fed Chair Janet Yellen Speech In Focus
Image via International Monetary Fund / Flickr Today’s Economic events Japan Household Spending y/y 1.20% vs. -1.80% Japan Unemployment Rate 3.30% v. 3.20% Japan retail sales y/y 0.50% vs. 1.60% Eurozone M3 money supply y/y 5.0% vs. 5.0% Eurozone private loans y/y 1.60% vs. 1.40% BoE releases FPC statement Canada RMPI m/m -2.60% vs. -0.80% […]
WTI Crude Tumbles Into ‘Correction’ To 2-Week Lows
The greatest short-squeeze on record is over and now the great global oil glut in history, largest inventories since The Great Depression, and global growth demand collapsing fundamentals are being priced back in. WTI Crude is now down 10% from its highs a week ago, back to near 2-week lows and near a $37 handle. Can […]
