Author: ColinTwiggs

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India, Japan bullish but China hesitates

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is testing support at 24000. Breach of the rising trendline warns of a correction. 13-Week Twiggs Money Flow holding above zero continues to indicate long-term buying pressure. Respect of support at 24000 would suggest another advance; confirmed if there is follow-through above 25000. Breach of support, however, would also warn of a correction — to the primary trendline around 22000.

Hang Seng Index

* Long-term target calculation: 24000 + ( 24000 – 21000 ) = 27000

China’s Shanghai Composite Index is consolidating below resistance at its 2013 high. Rising 13-week Twiggs Money Flow continues to indicate medium-term buying pressure. Breakout above 2350 would signal a fresh advance, while reversal below 2250 would warn of a correction.

Shanghai Composite Index

* Target calculation: 2250 + ( 2250 – 2000 ) = 2500

India’s Sensex recovered above 27000, suggesting an advance to 28000*. Rising 13-week Twiggs Money Flow suggests medium-term buying pressure. Breach of the secondary rising trendline is unlikely, but would warn of a correction.

Sensex

* Target calculation: 27000 + ( 27000 – 26000 ) = 28000

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index is testing resistance at its 2013 high of 16300. Rising 13-week Twiggs Money Flow indicates medium-term buying pressure. Breakout above 16300 would offer a long-term target of 18000*. Reversal below 16000 is unlikely, but would warn of a correction.

Nikkei 225

* Target calculation: 16000 + ( 16000 – 14000 ) = 18000

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Europe finds resistance

Germany’s DAX is testing resistance at 9800. Breakout would signal another advance, while follow-through above 10000 would confirm. Bearish divergence on 13-week Twiggs Money Flow followed by a dip below zero, however, warns of long-term selling pressure. Reversal below 9600 would warn of another test of primary support at 9000/8900.

DAX

Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 is testing resistance at its recent high of 3300. Breakout would suggest an advance to 3600*, but bearish divergence on 13-week Twiggs Momentum (and Twiggs Money Flow) warns that sellers dominate. Reversal below 3200 would indicate another test of primary support at 2975/3000.

Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50

The Footsie is testing medium-term support at 6750. Breach would warn of another test of primary support at 6400/6500. Oscillation of 13-week Twiggs Money Flow above zero, however, continues to warn of long-term buying pressure. Breakout above long-term resistance at 6900 would signal a primary advance.

FTSE 100

* Target calculation: 7000 + ( 7000 – 6000 ) = 8000

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Canada: TSX 60 correction

Canada’s TSX 60 broke short-term support at 890, warning of a correction. Respect of support at 865 would confirm that the primary trend is intact, while failure would indicate weakness. Reversal of 13-week Twiggs Momentum below zero is unlikely, but would warn of reversal to a (primary) down-trend.

TSX 60

* Target calculation: 900 + ( 900 – 865 ) = 935

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Margaret Thatcher: Statecraft

For my part, I favour an approach to statecraft that embraces principles, as long as it is not stifled by them;
and I prefer such principles to be accompanied by steel along with good intentions.

~ Margaret Thatcher, Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World (2002)

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Quarter-end turbulence

We are now approaching the September quarter-end, normally a volatile time for stocks. Investment managers tend to re-balance their portfolios after month-end, selling off poor performers and increasing cash balances to later take advantage of new opportunities. The result is that stocks tend to dip in October. If the fundamental under-pinning of the market is strong, they soon recover and continue on its merry way. But if there are serious flaws, the sell-off can turn into a rout — as in 1987 and 2007.

At present the market outlook appears sound and the bull market is likely to continue. I often use transport stock Fedex as a bellwether for the US economy. If the economy is robust, you can expect Fedex to display a solid up-trend. If weak, Fedex tends to lead the market lower. In November 2007 for example, on the monthly chart below, Fedex signaled a bear market several months ahead of the major indices. The present situation is quite the opposite, with the Fedex in a strong bull-trend, having recently respected support at $145. A 13-week Twiggs Money Flow trough above zero also suggests buying pressure. Economic activity is clearly improving.

Fedex

* Target calculation: 145 + ( 145 – 130 ) = 160

The S&P 500 break above 2010 proved to be a false break, with the market headed for a re-test of support at 1980. Breach would indicate another correction. Declining 21-day Twiggs Money Flow now indicates medium-term selling pressure; a fall below zero would warn of a primary down-trend.

S&P 500

* Target calculation: 2000 + ( 2000 – 1900 ) = 2100

CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) remains low, however, suggesting continuation of the bull market.

VIX Index

Dow Jones Industrial Average also retreated, testing its new support level at 17150. Reversal below 16950 would indicate a correction, while respect would suggest another advance. Declining 21-day Twiggs Money Flow also suggests medium-term selling pressure.

Dow Jones Industrial Average

* Target calculation: 16500 + ( 16500 – 15500 ) = 17500

My conclusion is that the bull market is sound, but likely to encounter some turbulence over the quarter-end. There may be a secondary correction, but respect of recent support levels would indicate a fresh advance.

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Irrational Exuberance Down Under | Bloomberg View

From William Pesek:

Lindsay David’s new book on Australia deserves a medical disclaimer: Reading this will greatly raise your blood pressure.

In “Australia: Boom to Bust” David sounds the alarm about an Australian housing bubble he argues makes the 12th-biggest economy a giant Lehman Brothers. His thesis can be boiled down to the number 9 — the ratio of home prices to income in Sydney. The multiple compares unfavorably to 7.3 in London, 6.2 in New York and 4.4 in Tokyo. Melbourne is 8.4.

Read more at Irrational Exuberance Down Under – Bloomberg View.

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Amir Sufi: Who is the Economy Working For? The Impact of Rising Inequality on the American Economy

Amir Sufi, professor of Finance at the University of Chicago, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Policy. His statement titled “Who is the Economy Working For? The Impact of Rising Inequality on the American Economy” makes interesting reading.

“Only 76% of Americans aged 25 to 54 currently have jobs, compared to 80% in 2006 and 82% in 1999…..How did we get into this mess?”

The gist of his argument is:

“Richer Americans save a much higher fraction of their income, ultimately holding most of the financial assets in the economy: stocks, bonds, money-market funds, and deposits. These savings are lent by banks to middle and lower income Americans, primarily through mortgages.”

…And collapse of the housing market caused disproportionate harm to the middle and lower-income groups.

It is true is that middle and lower-income groups have a higher percentage of their wealth invested in their homes and are also far more exposed to mortgages than richer Americans. The source of funding for these mortgages, however, is not the wealthy — who are primarily invested in growth assets such as stocks — but the banks who create new credit out of thin air. The collapse of the housing market caused disproportionate hardship to middle and lower-income Americans because their wealth is concentrated in this area. The rich suffered from a collapse in stock prices, but the market has recovered to new highs while housing remains in the doldrums. That is one of the causes of rising wealth inequality.

Where I do agree with Amir is that credit growth without income growth is a recipe for disaster.

“A tempting solution to our current troubles is to encourage even more borrowing by lower and middle-income Americans. This group of Americans is likely to spend out of additional credit, which would provide a temporary boost to consumption. But unless borrowing is predicated on higher income growth, we risk falling into the same trap that led to economic catastrophe.”

The graph below compares credit growth to growth in (nominal) disposable income:

Credit and Disposable Income

The ratio of credit to disposable income rose from 2:1 during the 1960s to almost 5:1 in 2009.

Credit to Disposable Income

There is no easy path back to the stability of the 1960s. A credit contraction of that magnitude would destroy the economy. But regulators should aim to keep credit growth below the rate of income growth over the next few decades, gradually restoring the economy to a more sustainable level.

The worst possible policy would be to encourage another credit boom!

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Piketty’s Missing Rentiers by Jeffrey Frankel | Project Syndicate

From Jeffrey Frankel:

It is true that capital’s share of income interest, dividends, and capital gains rose gradually in major rich countries during the period 1975-2007, while labor’s share wages and salaries fell, a trend that would support Piketty’s hypothesis if it continued…..

But interest rates have been at all-time lows in recent years – virtually zero. And the claim that in the long run the interest rate must be substantially greater than the economic growth rate is absolutely central to Piketty’s book.

That said, Piketty’s vision is focused squarely on the truly long run….Three century-long movements constitute the essence of the book: a rise in inequality in the nineteenth century, a fall in inequality in the twentieth century, and a predicted return to historically high inequality in the twenty-first century.

To me Piketty started with a preconceived idea and selected data to support this. He seems to ignore the impact of industrialization in the 19th century and technological advances in the late 20th century as sources of wealth creation, as well as access to low-cost labor through globalization during the latter period which has eroded manufacturing jobs and real wages.

Read more at Piketty’s Missing Rentiers by Jeffrey Frankel – Project Syndicate.

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How To Inoculate Angry Teens Against Islamic Extremism

Maajid Nawaz used to be a recruiter for an extreme Islamist group in the United Kingdom. NPR’s Scott Simon speaks with Nawaz about how the recruiting process works, and how it can be thwarted.

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