Mar 31, 2010

Daily Markets - Financial News And Opinions

Daily Markets - Financial News And Opinions

Federal Reserve Profits

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 03:03 AM PDT

It may be my imagination, but every time I’ve argued that the Fed’s lending (including securities purchases) will not cost the taxpayers I’ve felt eyes rolling. The low level of much financial reporting over the past two years has left the impression that Fed lending is done with taxpayer funds and is tantamount to government spending. Not so. There is a big difference between spending funds and making loans that will be repaid with interest-or repaid through sales of deeply discounted … [visit site to read more]


Forex Trading: Eurozone Unemployment Highest Since August 1998

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 02:06 AM PDT

Eurozone Unemployment rose to 10.0%, as expected, up from 9.9%. This is the highest reading since August 1998.
This is not damaging news to Eur/Usd, as we continue to make new highs. The pair was last at … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: Eurozone CPI

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 02:03 AM PDT

Eurozone CPI came in at 1.5%, stronger than the 1.1% expected and prior reading of 0.9%.
Eu/Usd is making new highs at time of release, currently trading at … [visit site to read more]

Rounded Reversal Pattern Forming On NASDAQ Index

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 02:01 AM PDT

Those who know me know that one of my favorite price patterns is the “Rounded Reversal” or “Rounded Arc” pattern, one of which is forming clearly now on the NASDAQ Index.  Let’s take a look.

NASDAQ Daily:

If you look slightly backwards to the beginning of January 2010, you see a shorter-term “Rounded Reversal” or “Arc” formation (I didn’t draw it) on the NASDAQ that preceded the sharp sell-off into the February low.

We’re seeing a much larger pattern form now as labeled, and … [visit site to read more]

Irish Banks Get Bailout As Ireland Continues Drastic Moves To Leave PIGS Behind

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 01:01 AM PDT

Ireland’s government will extend more aid to the nation’s banks in an effort to salvage the economy and avoid going down the same path as struggling Greece.

The Irish government has set up a “bad bank” to help the banking sector rebound from massive losses on loans to property developers. The National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) will apply an average discount of 47% to $21.5 billion (16 billion euros) of loans in the first tranche. The bank will take over a total of $107 billion ($80 … [visit site to read more]

The CRE Time Bomb

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 12:15 AM PDT

I have written before about the prospects of economic time bombs everywhere. While potential problems such as another round of pending residential resets have been well highlighted, the commercial real estate (CRE) time bomb is now as well documented. Recently, Elizabeth Warren stated on CNBC that ½ of all CRE mortgages will be underwater by the end of 2010:

By the end of 2010, about half of all commercial real estate mortgages will be underwater, said Elizabeth Warren, chairperson of the … [visit site to read more]

Historic Agreement Ends 40-Year-Old Iron Ore Benchmark As Vale And BHP Billiton Sign Short-Term Pricing Contracts

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 12:01 AM PDT

In a historic moment for commodities markets, two of the world’s largest iron ore producers, Vale SA (VALE) and BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE:BHP) signed short-term contracts for record prices with Asian steel mills that effectively replace a 40-year-old system of setting prices annually.

The landmark move by Vale and Anglo-Australian BHP ended the annual benchmark system when they signed new short-term deals linked to quarterly prices on the spot market, with the Brazilian company winning a 90% … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: Eur/Gbp Buying Begins As European Session Gets Underway

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 11:42 PM PDT

Eur/Gbp is beginning to rally as European traders man there post for the session. The pair is currently above .8900 , but is having a hard time breaking above the .8905-10 level.  If this is just a brief holdover and the pair continues upward .8935-40, where the 50% fibo lies of March 30th move, should be next strong resistance level. A move below .8900 should bring us near March 30th low of … [visit site to read more]

S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices Rise For 8th Month

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 11:01 PM PDT

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices for January 2010 were released Tuesday. Highlights include:

1. Both the 10-City Composite and the 20-City Composite Home Price Indexes have increased for eight consecutive months for the first time since the spring of 2006, almost four years ago, and both indexes in January reached their highest levels in 12 months, since January 2009 (see top chart above).

2. Based on the percentage increase from the same month in the previous year, … [visit site to read more]

Could This Be A Near Term Bottom For The Natural Gas ETF (UNG)?

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 10:21 PM PDT

Now don’t get all giddy on me. I’m not calling a bottom in Natgas (I have targets ranging from 3.25 to 2.42). I am saying that there may be a chance of some unwarranted move north in the most abundant fuel source on the planet. Now, I know that the coal and oil companies dominate the landscape in both Washington (regulation) and on Wall St. (power to control price). I know that we have enough Natgas in the ground that could easily be extracted to last hundreds of years. I know that … [visit site to read more]

Nottingham Co. Files For Spinnaker FAS Managed Equity ETF

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 10:11 PM PDT

Nottingham Company has filed with the SEC to launch an Actively-Managed ETF which will look invest in US equities. Nottingham is the latest addition to an increasingly longer line of issuers that have expressed their interest in bringing Active ETFs to market or have filed to launch these products. Some of the big names that have entered the spotlight of late are JP Morgan, Eaton Vance, Legg Mason and RiverPark Advisors.

The Active ETF planned by Nottingham will be called the “Spinnaker … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: Eur/Usd Breaks Below Key Hourly Support

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 09:36 PM PDT

Eur/Usd has broken below 1.3400. This is significant for two reasons. The 100 hour M/Alies at 1.3404 and 50% fibo from move up beginning March 25th is at 1.3402. If the pair can remian below it should run into some support at 1.3370. Stronger support lies below, around 1.3320-25 level, which is a point of some old hourly lows. If the pair defies these bearish indicators and moves higher it should run into resistance at 1.3430-35 as the 61.8% fibo lies at … [visit site to read more]

Stock Market Action - We’re Headed Toward Another Bolshevik Revolution

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 09:01 PM PDT

In the world of technical analysis, price action is king.

I’m bearish. Everything in my heart, my soul, and my mind tells me I have to be short the stock market. But I’ve avoided making large downside bets because the price action - the king - has been so persistently positive.

The peasants, however, are not very enamored of his royal highness. Volume is weak. Negative divergences exist on nearly every momentum indicator. Sentiment indicators show remarkable investor complacency. … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: Greek Debt Auction Failure Weighs On Euro

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 08:55 PM PDT

The Dollar reversed earlier weakness to close higher after U.S. consumer confidence data came out better than expected. The friendly report served as further evidence that the U.S. economy may be recovering faster than the Euro Zone. This means that the Fed is likely to begin raising interest rates before the European Central Bank.
Upside momentum slowed considerably overnight which helped weaken the Euro on the New York session opening. The buzz over the European Union/International Monetary … [visit site to read more]

Stock Picks For Wednesday 31 March: GigaMedia, UTStarcom

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 08:12 PM PDT

( click to enlarge )

GigaMedia (NASDAQ:GIGM) is trading above 20 and 50 SMA, RSI, Stochastics and MACD all look good to me. I continue to keep a close eye on GIGM call activity because there is some elevated April-10 Call options with strike prices significantly above the current market.

( click to enlarge )

UTStarcom (NASDAQ:UTSI) broke an ascending triangle area pattern today and could go to 3.42. Volume confirms. Buy as close to 2.40 as possible. The technical chart above shows very … [visit site to read more]

Opportunities In Japan ETFs

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 08:01 PM PDT

The world’s second largest economy has been struggling to get back on its feet and emerge from its worst recession since World War II. However, recent data suggests that Japan’s economic recovery efforts are finally starting to reach households and its economy could finally be starting to stabilize paving the road to opportunity.

According to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, consumer demand and spending has been on the rise.  Higher demand for automobiles, energy and … [visit site to read more]

Why I See Potential In Industrial Stocks

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 07:01 PM PDT

If you read this column with any frequency, you know that I have continued to argue that the best values in U.S. stocks remain in defensive areas like consumer staples and utilities.

So why, then, did I just tell my Dividend Superstars subscribers to load up on two companies from the industrials sector? I’ll give you the reasons in a moment. First, let’s recap what constitutes an “industrial” company these days …

Planes, Trains, Trucks
(And a Whole Lot More!)

It’s relatively easy … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: AUD/USD Pulls Market Lower

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 07:01 PM PDT

The release of a much worse than expected Australian Retail Sales figure for February (expected @ +0.3% release @ -1.4%) pushed all risk pairs lower in what has been a very thin market. On the chart below we see the AUD/USD pair find support right ahead of the 200 hour moving average. We will be paying more attention to news here in the short-term as many pairs are sitting in no-mans … [visit site to read more]

Video: The Day Ahead: ADP Employment Report

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 07:00 PM PDT

The stories, data, and stocks that may have the greatest impact during the next trading session. … [visit site to read more]

Singapore Stock Market Update For Wednesday 31 March

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 06:54 PM PDT

Morning Highlights
The STI gapped down 25.42 points to open at 2907.97 this morning. Do not panic, as it could be due to end month future settlement. We will need to observe further on market movement. On the other hand, Japanese shares drove higher, with strength in auto makers overcoming weakness in financials.

Hong Kong Land broke high of  5

Singapore's electricity demand growth sank to a record low of 0.4% last year, from the usual 3-4 % as the recession ate into the … [visit site to read more]
posted by

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)