ColinTwiggs, Author at the patient investor

March 22, 2015

Footsie breaks 15-year high

The FTSE 100 overcame resistance at its December 1999 high of 6950, closing the week above 7000 for the first time. Expect retracement to test the new support level, but breakout signals a primary advance with a long-term target of 8000*. A 21-day Twiggs Money Flow trough above zero confirms long-term buying pressure.

FTSE 100

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

Germany’s DAX recovered above 12000, suggesting continuation of the advance. Expect resistance at the Deutsche Bank target of 12500 (from late 2014). Rising 21-day Twiggs Money Flow indicates strong buying pressure. Reversal below 11800 is unlikely at this stage, but would warn of a correction.

DAX

* Target calculation: 12200 + ( 12200 – 11900 ) = 12500

Strong advances on these two indices suggest a broader European recovery.

March 19, 2015

Gold rallies on Fed “dovish” statement

The Fed Open Market Committee (FOMC) dropped the word “patient”, but market bulls responded positively to its “dovish” post-meeting statement. Jeff Cox at CNBC writes:

… the mostly dovish statement made little fanfare over eliminating the word, and in fact stated specifically that “an increase in the target range for the federal funds rate remains unlikely at the April FOMC meeting,” a phrase missing from previous communiques……

“The Committee anticipates that it will be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate when it has seen further improvement in the labor market and is reasonably confident that inflation will move back to its 2 percent objective over the medium term,” the statement said.

Like I said: “…. Janet Yellen will move when the time is right. And not before.”

Ten-year Treasury Note yields broke through 2.00%, warning of another test of primary support at 1.65%. 13-Week Twiggs Momentum below zero continues to signal a down-trend. Recovery above 2.00% is unlikely, but would signal a rally to 2.50%.

10-Year Treasury Yields

The Dollar retreated from long-term resistance at 100. Rising 13-week Twiggs Momentum signals a strong (primary) up-trend. Respect of support at 95.5 would indicate continuation of the trend.

Dollar Index

* Target calculation: 100 + ( 100 – 90 ) = 110

Gold rallied on the back of a softer dollar and weaker interest rate outlook. Expect a rally to test $1200/ounce, but respect of this level would reinforce the primary down-trend. Breach of support at $1140/$1150 would confirm. 13-Week Twiggs Momentum below zero strengthens the bear signal.

Spot Gold

* Target calculation: 1200 – ( 1400 – 1200 ) = 1000

March 19, 2015

Fed patience buoys stocks

The S&P 500 rallied to 2100 on the strength of the Fed’s latest FOMC statement, allaying fears of an imminent rate rise. Follow-through above 2120 would indicate a test of 2200*. Another 13-week Twiggs Money Flow trough above zero would signal continuation of the primary up-trend.

S&P 500 Index

* Target calculation: 2100 + ( 2100 – 2000 ) = 2200

CBOE Volatility Index at 14 indicates low risk typical of a bull market.

S&P 500 VIX

Europe

Germany’s DAX retreated below its long-term target at 12000*. Correction to 11000 would indicate a healthy up-trend, while narrow consolidation below 12000 would be a bullish sign. Rising 13-week Twiggs Money Flow indicates strong buying pressure.

DAX

* Target calculation: 11000 + ( 11000 – 10000 ) = 12000

The Footsie rallied to 6950. The short correction is a bullish sign, suggesting a fresh advance. 13-Week Twiggs Money Flow oscillating above zero indicates healthy buying pressure. Breakout above 7000 would signal a primary advance with a long-term target of 8000*.

FTSE 100

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

Asia

China’s Shanghai Composite Index broke resistance at 3400, signaling a fresh advance. Economic data is not strong, but expectation of further stimulus has buoyed the market. A 13-week Twiggs Money Flow rally indicates medium-term buying pressure. Reversal below 3050 is now unlikely.

Shanghai Composite Index

* Target calculation: 3400 + ( 3400 – 2400 ) = 4400

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index is heading for a test of its long-term target at 20000*. Rising 13-week Twiggs Momentum indicates a strong (primary) up-trend.

Nikkei 225 Index

* Target calculation: 18000 + ( 18000 – 16000 ) = 20000

India’s Sensex faces stiff resistance at 30000. Declining 13-week Twiggs Momentum warns the primary-trend is weakening. Recovery above 29000 would indicate the correction is over, while breach of 28000 would test primary support at 26500/27000. Respect of the primary trendline would establish a solid base for further advances.

SENSEX

Australia

The ASX 200 rallied to 5950, the short correction suggesting another advance. Breakout above 6000 would confirm, offering a (medium-term) target of 6250*. Rising 13-week Twiggs Money Flow indicates buying pressure. Reversal below 5750 is unlikely, but would warn of a correction to 5500.

ASX 200

* Target calculation: 6000 + ( 6000 – 5750 ) = 6250

More….

Gold rallies on Fed “dovish” statement

China hot money heads for the exit

Crude breaks support

The Catch-22 of energy storage | On Line Opinion

Why our prep-school diplomats fail against Putin and ISIS | New York Post

Concessions to adversaries only end in self reproach, and the more strictly they are avoided the greater will be the chance of security.

~ Thucydides (c. 460 BC – c. 400 BC): History of the Peloponnesian War

March 18, 2015

China hot money heads for the exit

Huw McKay at Westpac writes:

“The Jan-Feb FX positions of China’s banks imply that FX reserves fell in the early part of the year, despite back to back monster trade surpluses of $US60 billion. The logical conclusion is that money flowed out in a big way on the financial account.”

There are two reasons why capital would flow out on the financial account. The usual explanation is the PBOC buying US Treasuries, exporting capital to prevent the yuan appreciating against the Dollar. But Huw points out that the PBOC balance sheet shows a slight decline in foreign assets held. This could be a smokescreen, with investments channeled through an intermediary. Otherwise, it could be a sign that private capital is leaving for safer shores. This from the Business Times:

More than 76,000 Chinese millionaires emigrated or acquired citizenship of another country in the decade through 2013 amid global expansion by the nation’s companies.

Australia was among the most favored destinations, broker Knight Frank LLP said on Thursday, citing data compiled by law firm Fragomen LLP. The Chinese accounted for more than 90 percent of applications for the country’s significant investor visa in the two years to the end of January, representing 1,384 people. They also make the most applications for high-net-worth visas in the UK and the US.

Consumer confidence is below 2008/2009 levels and declining.

RT @TomOrlik: One victim of China's falling property prices – consumer confidence pic.twitter.com/d6chuyjh1A

— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) March 18, 2015

March 16, 2015

Crude breaks support

Nymex light crude (April 2015 contract) broke support at $45/barrel, warning of a decline to $35/barrel*.

Nymex WTI Crude

* Target calculation: 45 – ( 55 – 45 ) = 35

March 15, 2015

The Catch-22 of energy storage | On Line Opinion

John Morgan questions whether wind and solar are viable energy sources when one considers energy returned on energy invested (EROEI).

There is a minimum EROEI, greater than 1, that is required for an energy source to be able to run society. An energy system must produce a surplus large enough to sustain things like food production, hospitals, and universities to train the engineers to build the plant, transport, construction, and all the elements of the civilization in which it is embedded. For countries like the US and Germany, Weißbach et al. estimate this minimum viable EROEI to be about 7……

The fossil fuel power sources we’re most accustomed to have a high EROEI of about 30, well above the minimum requirement. Wind power at 16, and concentrating solar power (CSP, or solar thermal power) at 19, are lower, but the energy surplus is still sufficient, in principle, to sustain a developed industrial society. Biomass, and solar photovoltaic (at least in Germany), however, cannot. With an EROEI of only 3.9 and 3.5 respectively, these power sources cannot support with their energy alone both their own fabrication and the societal services we use energy for in a first world country.

Energy Returned on Invested, from Weißbach et al.,1 with and without energy storage (buffering). CCGT is closed-cycle gas turbine. PWR is a Pressurized Water (conventional nuclear) Reactor. Energy sources must exceed the “economic threshold”, of about 7, to yield the surplus energy required to support an OECD level society.

These EROEI values are for energy directly delivered (the “unbuffered” values in the figure). But things change if we need to store energy. If we were to store energy in, say, batteries, we must invest energy in mining the materials and manufacturing those batteries. So a larger energy investment is required, and the EROEI consequently drops…[to the buffered level].

March 15, 2015

Why our prep-school diplomats fail against Putin and ISIS | New York Post

Kerry and Putin

“Why do our “best and brightest” fail when faced with a man like Putin?” Ralph Peters asks. “Or with charismatic fanatics? Or Iranian negotiators? Why do they misread our enemies so consistently, from Hitler and Stalin to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed caliph?”

The answer is straightforward:

Social insularity: Our leaders know fellow insiders around the world; our enemies know everyone else.

The mandarin’s distaste for physicality: We are led through blood-smeared times by those who’ve never suffered a bloody nose.

And last but not least, bad educations in our very best schools: Our leadership has been educated in chaste political theory, while our enemies know, firsthand, the stuff of life.

Above all, there is arrogance based upon privilege. For revolving-door leaders in the U.S. and Europe, if you didn’t go to the right prep school and elite university, you couldn’t possibly be capable of comprehending, let alone changing, the world…….

That educational insularity is corrosive and potentially catastrophic: Our “best” universities prepare students to sustain the current system, instilling vague hopes of managing petty reforms.

But dramatic, revolutionary change in geopolitics never comes from insiders. It’s the outsiders who change the world.

An Athenian general once wrote:

The state that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its laws made by cowards, and its fighting done by fools.

~ Thucydides (c. 460 BC – c. 400 BC)

March 12, 2015

DAX surges ahead while others retreat

The DAX is headed for its long-term target of 12000 while most markets (other than Japan) undergo a correction.

The S&P 500 broke support at 2080, indicating a correction to test 2000. Breach of primary support is unlikely and another 13-week Twiggs Money Flow trough above zero would signal another advance.

S&P 500 Index

* Target calculation: 2100 + ( 2100 – 2000 ) = 2200

Dow Jones Industrial Average is similarly correcting to test primary support at 17000.

Dow Jones Industrial Average

CBOE Volatility Index continues to indicate low risk typical of a bull market.

S&P 500 VIX

Europe

Germany’s DAX broke resistance at 11500 and is headed for a test of the long-term target at 12000*. Expect further resistance, possibly a correction, at this level. Rising 13-week Twiggs Momentum indicates a strong up-trend.

DAX

* Target calculation: 11000 + ( 11000 – 10000 ) = 12000

The Footsie retreated from a test of its December 1999 high of 6950. 13-Week Twiggs Momentum oscillating around zero indicates further consolidation. Expect a test of support at 6500.

FTSE 100

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

Asia

China’s Shanghai Composite Index is consolidating between 3050 and 3400. Declining 13-week Twiggs Money Flow warns of medium-term selling pressure. Reversal below 3050 would warn of a decline to test the primary trendline at 2700. Breakout above 3400 is less likely, but would signal another primary advance.

Shanghai Composite Index

Breach of support at 24000 on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index warns of further weakness in China. Follow-through below 23000 would indicate a primary down-trend — and a stronger bear signal (for China).

Hang Seng Index

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index is retracing to test new support at its 2007 high of 18000/18300. Rising 13-week Twiggs Momentum indicates a strong up-trend. Respect of support is likely and would signal an advance to 20000* — confirmed by follow-through above 19000.

Nikkei 225 Index

* Target calculation: 18000 + ( 18000 – 16000 ) = 20000

India’s Sensex faces stiff resistance at 30000. Bearish divergence on 13-week Twiggs Momentum warns the primary-trend is weakening, but not necessarily a reversal. This could be a mid-point consolidation. Retreat below 29000 indicates a correction. Follow-through below 28000 would test primary support at 26500/27000. Respect of the primary trendline would establish a solid base for further advances.

SENSEX

Australia

The ASX 200 found support at 5750. Recovery above 5850 would suggest the correction is over. Follow-through above 6000 would confirm another advance, with a target of 6250*. Declining 21-day Twiggs Money Flow indicates mild selling pressure. Breach of 5750 is less likely, but would warn of a correction to 5500.

ASX 200

* Target calculation: 6000 + ( 6000 – 5750 ) = 6250

More….

Another downward leg for crude?

Gold falls as Dollar soars

Deflation in Australia?

CPI unwinds as the Fed runs out of “patience”

Dad’s Army fumbles housing affordability | Macrobusiness

When good news is bad news

Crude in contango

Life is a school of probability.

~ Walter Bagehot (hat tip to Barry Ritholz)

March 12, 2015

Another downward leg for crude?

Nymex Light Crude is headed for another test of support at $45/barrel. Breach would signal a decline, with a medium-term target of $35/barrel*.

Nymex WTI Light Crude and Brent Sweet Crude

* Target calculation: 45 – ( 55 – 45 ) = 35

Saturation of available storage capacity (see Crude in Contango) is expected to force sellers into the market and drive prices lower.

March 11, 2015

Gold falls as Dollar soars

Ten-year Treasury Note yields are testing support at 2.00%. Recovery above 2.50% would indicate another test of 3.00%. But 13-week Twiggs Momentum below zero continues to signal a down-trend. Another peak below zero would warn of a decline to test the all-time low at 1.40%. Breakout above 3.00% appears remote at present, but would signal the end of the secular (20+ year) down-trend.

10-Year Treasury Yields

The Dollar is on a tear, testing long-term resistance at 100. Rising 13-week Twiggs Momentum signals a strong (primary) up-trend. Breakout would offer a new target of 110*, but first expect retracement to confirm the new support level.

Dollar Index

* Target calculation: 100 + ( 100 – 90 ) = 110

Gold

Gold fell through long-term support at $1200 and is testing the last line of support at the recent lows of $1140/$1150 per ounce. Reversal of 13-week Twiggs Momentum below zero warns of another (primary) decline, with a target of $1000*. Breach of support at $1140 would confirm.

Spot Gold

* Target calculation: 1200 – ( 1400 – 1200 ) = 1000