Weighing The Week Ahead: What’s Up With Housing?
Once again, this week’s economic calendar is very light. There will be plenty of political news and daily doses of FedSpeak. Despite the political stories, I expect the punditry to be asking: What is happening with housing? Prior Theme Recap In my last WTWA (two weeks ago) I predicted a focus on the US Presidential election and […]
E Wabtec’s Growth Is Dead
Wabtec (WAB) provides equipment and services to the global rail industry. Its Freight division (60% of revenue) manufactures and services components for new and existing freight cars. Transit (40% of revenue) manufactures and services components for transit vehicles, typically subways and buses. The company is highly-dependent upon the health of the global freight rail and […]
Stocks Run Win Streak To Fifth Week After Fed Tamps Down Rate Hike Expectations
Stocks ended the week higher once again, extending the market’s winning streak to a fifth week, after the Federal Reserve surprised by indicating that it may make only two more quarter-point rate hikes this year, down from members’ prior median view that four such hikes were in the cards. The Fed was the headliner, but […]
Chinese Data Shows Economic Improvement
There seems to be some good news out of China. Recent data show some improvement in the economy’s activity but the country still faces downward pressure. Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli said on Sunday, “We don’t want to shy away from saying that China’s economy is facing downward pressure, but overall the progress is steady,” Recent […]
Bundesbank President: “Helicopter Money Isn’t Manna Falling From Heaven”
Not everyone was delighted by Mario Draghi’s decision on March 10 to begin monetizing corporate bonds: chief among them was Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann whose opposition to unorthodox monetary policies is well known, and whose “Northern Block” was among those voting against the ECB’s QE expansion (Weidmann himself was not among those voting last week). Of course, […]
Thor Has Peaked
Thor Industries (THO) reported quarterly earnings last Wednesday. The company’s $975 million in revenue handily beat the $909 million expected; Thor delivered an earnings beat as well. THO has rallied over 8% since the report was released. I thought the quarter was not as positive as it appeared. Below is my take: Revenue Has Peaked […]
Protection Always Beats Prediction (The Un-Beta Portfolio Part II)
<<< Back to: Sidestep The Decline: The UN-Beta Portfolio I can’t say if we are in a bear rally or, after 7 years, phhht, that was all the correction we got before heading off to the races again.But since I don’t know, I’m very happy with our Un-Beta Portfolio. In my last article, here, introducing this […]
Forex Strength And Comparison For Week 12 – 20 March, 2016
This is the article “Strength and Comparison” for the coming week, the article “Ranking, Rating and Score” has also been published this weekend. The last 3 months currency classification from a longer term perspective updated on 28 February 2016 are provided here for reference purposes: Strong: USD / JPY / NZD. The preferred range is from […]
E Ben Bernanke On The Pros & Cons Of Negative Interest Rates
…We can’t rule out the possibility that, at some point in the next few years, our economy will slow, perhaps significantly. How would the Federal Reserve respond? What tools remain in the monetary toolbox? In this and a subsequent post, I discuss some policy options the Fed might consider, focusing first on negative interest rates. […]
The Greenback Remains Technically Vulnerable
The US dollar had a difficult week. The price action after the ECB meeting had undermined the technical tone, and the dollar took another leg down after the FOMC moved closer to the market expectation by reducing the number of rate hikes the median official thinks will be appropriate this year from four to two. The […]
