Under ordinary circumstances, a 2.3% MoM bump in Durable Goods orders would be very welcome – especially on the heels of last month’s -1.3% print. When inflation is a growing concern due to the Fed’s largesse, however, it complicates things. For instance, might it cause the Fed to take its foot off the gas? Not … continue reading →
ES came within 9 points of our next downside target before getting a nice bounce motivated primarily by USDJPY, which was working flat out to save the NKD from a scary, and long overdue dive to its SMA200. This bounce will be quite important to the bulls, who are no doubt hoping to avoid a … continue reading →
Not that futures needed any help melting down this morning, but Jim Bullard just poured gas on the fire. Yes, Jim Bullard! The Fed president who never had a hawkish thought in his life. "We were expecting an inflationary impulse, but this has been more than what we were initially expecting," says James Bullard. "The … continue reading →
Neither yesterday’s FOMC announcement nor Powell’s press conference produced any meaningful surprises. Yes, the dots shifted slightly, but everyone knows they’ll shift a lot more before long. Futures easily reached our initial downside target and came within 5 points (so far) of our second. But, the real action was in currencies, which were finally turned … continue reading →
We’ve pretty much beat the inflation horse to death on these pages over the past six months. Bottom line, It’s too high and potentially out of control. So far, however, the Fed’s been able to hoodwink investors and algos and commandeer the bond market. Aside from making things much more difficult for the little guy … continue reading →
You know when the market is in a holding pattern by how VIX behaves. For the most of the past three weeks, we’ve seen sudden collapses in VIX just ahead of the cash open. It doesn’t always last, but it’s very effective in reminding algos to smack the snooze button, “fixing” any overnight declines and … continue reading →
If yesterday’s better than expected ADP jobs data was bad news, then it stands to reason that today’s worse than expected DOL NFP print would be good for the market. Well, that, and the 13% pounding VIX has taken… As it was hammered back below its SMA10, ES was ramped up above its SMA10. Funny … continue reading →
Futures are slightly higher ahead of the open, propped up by the usual pre-opening VIX plunge and WTI ramp job. continued for members… … continue reading →
You could argue that the annual PCE print of 3.6%, the hottest since 1992, is merely a function of the base effect – last year’s crash in inflation.But that argument falls flat when you consider that MoM Core PCE, which is completely unaffected by the base effect, soared by a record 0.7%. Naturally, both stocks … continue reading →
The Dow, the most easily and commonly manipulated index, has gone nowhere since failing to hold its 3.618 Fib extension at 34,430. It begs the question: what’s the holdup? Usually, when a closely followed index goes sideways for a while, it’s because an important moving average is moving into position for a backtest. But, is … continue reading →