*FXCM: CLIENTS EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT LOSSES AFTER SNB MOVE *FXCM: NEGATIVE EQUITY BALANCES OWED TO FXCM ABOUT $225M *FXCM: MAY BE IN BREACH OF SOME REGULATORY CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS *FXCM DISCUSSING ALTERNATIVES TO RETURN CAPITAL TO PRIOR LEVELS FXCM an online provider of forex trading and related services worldwide, announced today due to unprecedented...
For the past few months, the one silver lining to the energy complex - with crude oil plummeting to levels not seen since 2009 - was nat gas, which soared to the mid-$4s in early November on expectations of a brutal polar vortex for the second year in a row sending heating demand surging. Well, so far the "harsh" weather, which was blamed for the epic collapse in...
The price of oil has been sliding in the second half of 2014, but airlines have not lowered their prices. Or brought back free meals. Or allowed domestic customers to check in luggage free of charge. So how can one turn flying friendly? Perhaps by purchasing U.S. airline stocks. The cost of oil has plunged nearly 48% since the end of June and the market remains...
Copper in my opinion has been replaced by technology, specifically semiconductors. The market seems to be much more focused on the happenings of Silicon Valley rather than Milwaukee or Detroit. While the industrial sector still remains a large piece of our economy it no longer is the driver of growth. At least that’s what price action has been telling us. The...
Thursday's OPEC meeting is set to be one of the most contentious since oil prices plummeted by more than $100 a barrel in 2008. Saudi Arabia's veteran energy minister Ali Al Naimi has carried the burden of trying to balance global oil supply with demand for nearly two decades. But there are signs that Saudi Arabia is no longer willing to play that role. And the...
For what it's worth, this father of two thinks that Hasbro's current lineup of toys is much cooler than Mattel's. Investors seems to agree. Shares of Hasbro (HAS) are near an all-time high. Mattel (MAT) has been one of the worst performers in the S&P 500 this year. It's the misfit toy stock of Wall Street. And it's been that way for a few years. Why is Mattel...
October was the ninth consecutive month where the headline payrolls figure came in above 200k, rendering this year’s January to October period the strongest in fifteen years. The US NAIRU may be 5.2% or it may be 5.7%. But wherever it lies, the actual unemployment rate is moving swiftly towards it. Friday’s Employment Situation Report showed that the US economy...
$DXY Dollar trade-weighted cycles tend to last on average 8 years * There are many indicators that tell us interest rates are too low * There is no precedented history to have rates at zero. I think we are really behaving in a way which is outside of historical norms and that should make us nervous * Given the unemployment rate, and even given low inflation, we...
Despite the powerful rally over the last several weeks that brought the US equity markets back to their all-time highs, treasury yields are up only slightly and are well below mid-September levels. Meanwhile, as Gavekal Capital notes, speculators are still carrying a hefty short position in 10-year treasury futures and options contracts, implying that yields have...
Japanese authorities surprised everyone on Friday by increasing their already aggressive bond purchases (QE) by a third. In addition, it will expand those purchases to include stocks and real estate investments. The Japanese pension fund also announced that it will increase its allocation to domestic and foreign stocks. That gave a huge boost to global stocks. The...
Apple’s latest success, the iPhone 6, only hit the markets on Sept. 19, but its stellar performance preceded it by several months. Apple resumed its uptrend back in May and marked record highs in September. Meanwhile, its cost-cutting phone rival, Samsung dug deeper to over two-year lows. There is little reason to expect these two stocks to change their...
Shares in Orbital Sciences Corp have fallen faster than its Antares rocket in US pre-market trading overnight, dropping as much as 16 per cent after its mission to the International Space Station exploded spectacularly seconds after launch. The unmanned rocket was taking 5,000 pounds of supplies to the space station, but exploded shortly after it took off at a...
Market often gives the second chance so we have that case with Nasdaq 100 now. Index was turbo-shortsqueezed and returned to its highs. At the same time all popular comoanies reported bad or very bad (NFLX,AMZN,FB,TWTR etc). Yes the index is outweighted by AAPL, where businness still going for strong but its more an exception. Many blue chips have reported badly —...
Today we have major market event — FOMC meeting in Washington. There will be no press conference today, only statement. It's interesting that this major market event became minor market mover last year because of too much transparency and predictability of monetary policy. Consensus now is that this meeting won't have any surprising message. One thing that set...
China and Japan may be the economic giants of Asia and the world, but the behavior of their currencies would indicate otherwise. Since August 2012, the Chinese yuan strengthened and the Japanese yen weakened considerably. The yuan trades at record highs against the yen. Given the negative impact of a strong currency on exports, China should seek to weaken its...
October is supposed to be a down month for stocks, and the aggressive three-week slide at the start of the month would make a strong argument. However, recent history says otherwise. The S&P 500 rose in three of the past four years. With only four days left in the month, can the S&P 500 improve the statistics to four out of five? The answer is in the hands of the...
The markets continue to operate based on complete delusions. The single biggest driver of stock prices has been the Fed’s QE programs. QE has accomplished nothing other than a higher stock market. EVERY-time that the Fed was not engaged in QE, the markets have fallen as the below chart shows. QE is over. It just ended. And the Fed will not be launching it...
The chart above shows that it has mocked the 5-0 harmonic, rising well above the 191.80 level. It has also retraced more than 61.8%, a key Fibonacci level, of the move lower from the all-time high. The RSI has also continued up through the mid line and the MACD is rising. These are good things. But there are some characteristics on the chart that still warrant...