BoJ Rolls the Dice

The Bank of Japan has kept interest rates at or below zero for years. Their bet was that the suppression of interest rates (by purchasing Japan’s net issuance, the BoJ now owns over 50%) would offer sufficient protection against both inflation and the 263% debt:GDP – exacerbated by the rapid depreciation of the yen. Investors, … continue reading →

Charts I’m Watching: Sep 1, 2022

Futures are off about 0.5% this morning as the economic data was somewhat better than expected. It’s an important juncture for the market, as USDJPY has reached our 139.43 target at the same time that ES is approaching our 3902 backtest target. continued for members… … continue reading →

The Japanification of the US Markets

If you blinked, you might have missed the S&P 500’s 1.1% plunge last Wednesday… …following the highest CPI print since 1990.The print was followed two days later by the lowest consumer sentiment reading in 10 years, a result driven primarily by…wait for it…inflation fears.  Stocks actually rose on the day.Until a few months ago, the … continue reading →

Don’t Fight the BoJ

I know what you’re thinking: it’s “don’t fight the Fed.” While that’s generally true, too, the Bank of Japan is the central bank which most conspicuously wears its balance sheet on its sleeve. When my charts are a farrago of bearish indicators, but the Nikkei pushes up through resistance? I’ve learned to ignore the indicators … continue reading →

Why the Market Didn’t Correct Today

Hint: it’s the same reason the “market” hasn’t corrected much at all for the past six weeks.  And, no, there’s no free lunch involved. The day started with some tragic news out of Brussels.  ISIS terrorists attacked innocent civilians at the airport and a metro station, killing dozens and wounding hundreds.  Brussels is the de … continue reading →