Colin Twiggs, Author at the patient investor

February 11, 2013

Revolving door may have hurt SEC money fund reforms | Reuters

Sarah N. Lynch at Reuters reports:

Former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staffers who now work in the private sector may have helped derail last year’s effort to reform the $2.6 trillion money market fund industry, a report [by the Project on Government Oversight] said.

Colin Twiggs

Colin Twiggs is a former investment banker with almost 40 years of experience in financial markets. He co-founded Incredible Charts and writes the popular Trading Diary and Patient Investor newsletters.

Using a top-down approach, Colin identifies key macro trends in the global economy before evaluating selected opportunities using a combination of fundamental and technical analysis.

Focusing on interest rates and financial market liquidity as primary drivers of the economic cycle, he warned of the 2008/2009 and 2020 bear markets well ahead of actual events.
He founded PVT Capital (AFSL No. 546090) in May 2023, which offers investment strategy and advice to wholesale clients.

February 11, 2013

ASX 200 tests 5000

The ASX 200 continues to test resistance at 5000. Rising troughs on 13-week Twiggs Money Flow indicate strong buying pressure. Breakout is likely and would offer a long-term target of 6000*. Respect of resistance, while unlikely, would suggest a correction to 4500.

ASX 200 Index

* Target calculation: 5000 + ( 5000 – 4000 ) = 6000

Colin Twiggs

Using a top-down approach, Colin identifies key macro trends in the global economy before evaluating selected opportunities using a combination of fundamental and technical analysis.

February 11, 2013

Asia: China near 1 year high

China’s Shanghai Composite Index is testing resistance at its 2012 high of 2460 on the daily chart. Rising 21-day Twiggs Money Flow indicates medium-term buying pressure. Breakout is likely and would signal a primary up-trend, but the index is overdue for a correction and a higher trough is required to confirm the reversal.

Shanghai Composite Index

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index already indicates a primary up-trend. Reversal below 23000, however, would warn of a correction.

Shanghai Composite Index

India’s Sensex is testing its secondary rising trendline, while declining 13-week Twiggs Money Flow suggests selling pressure. Breach of the trendline would indicate a correction to test 18000/18200.

Sensex Index

* Target calculation: 19 + ( 19 – 18 ) = 20

Singapore’s Straits Times Index is testing resistance at 3300. Rising 63-day Twiggs Momentum suggests continuation of the primary up-trend. Breakout would signal an advance to 3900*.

* Target calculation: 3300 + ( 3300 – 2700 ) = 3900

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index retreated from its 2010 high of 11500. Reversal below 11000 would suggest a correction to 10000. Respect of support would indicate a breakout above 11500 — and a fresh primary advance.

Nikkei 225 Index

* Target calculation: 11000 + ( 11000 – 8000 ) = 14000

Colin Twiggs

Using a top-down approach, Colin identifies key macro trends in the global economy before evaluating selected opportunities using a combination of fundamental and technical analysis.

February 11, 2013

Europe: DAX selling pressure

The FTSE 100 is retracing to test its (secondary) rising trendline on the daily chart. Respect would signal another advance — as would a 21-day Twiggs Money Flow trough above zero.

FTSE 100 Index

* Target calculation: 6000 + ( 6000 – 5250 ) = 6750

Germany’s DAX is retracing to test support at 7500 on the monthly chart. Bullish divergence on 13-week Twiggs Money Flow warns of selling pressure. Breach of support would indicate a correction to test the rising trendline — around 7000.

DAX Index

* Target calculation: 7500 + ( 7500 – 7000 ) = 8000

Italy’s MIB index retreated below the new support level of 17000. Breach of the rising trendline — and support at 16000 — would warn of a bull trap. But a 63-day Momentum trough above zero would signal a primary advance to 19000*.

DAX Index

* Target calculation: 17000 + ( 17000 – 15000 ) = 19000

Colin Twiggs

Using a top-down approach, Colin identifies key macro trends in the global economy before evaluating selected opportunities using a combination of fundamental and technical analysis.

February 11, 2013

Canada: TSX buying pressure

The TSX Composite continues to test resistance at 12800. Rising troughs on 13-week Twiggs Money Flow indicate long-term buying pressure. Breakout above 12800 would signal an advance to the 2011 high at 14300*.

TSX Composite Index

* Target calculation: 12800 + ( 12800 – 11300 ) = 14300

Colin Twiggs

Using a top-down approach, Colin identifies key macro trends in the global economy before evaluating selected opportunities using a combination of fundamental and technical analysis.

February 11, 2013

S&P 500 reverse pennant

The S&P 500 displays a small broadening wedge (reverse pennant) on the daily chart. Respect of support at 1500 on the last down-swing (within the wedge) suggests an upward breakout. Watch for bearish divergence on 21-day Twiggs Money Flow — which would warn of retracement to the rising trendline.

S&P 500 Index

The quarterly chart warns us to expect strong resistance at the 2000/2007 highs of 1550/1575. Recovery of 63-day Twiggs Momentum above 10% would increase likelihood of an upward breakout — with a target of 1750* — while retreat below zero would suggest a primary reversal.
S&P 500 Index

* Target calculation: 1550 + ( 1550 – 1350 ) = 1750

The Dow is similarly testing long-term resistance, at 14000. Breakout is likely, with 13-week Twiggs Money Flow troughs at zero indicating long-term buying pressure.
S&P 500 Index

I repeat my warning from last week:

These are times for cautious optimism. Central banks are flooding markets with freshly printed money, driving up stock prices, but this could create a bull trap if capital investment, employment and corporate earnings fail to respond.

Colin Twiggs

Using a top-down approach, Colin identifies key macro trends in the global economy before evaluating selected opportunities using a combination of fundamental and technical analysis.

February 10, 2013

Electric version of Holden Commodore

Barry Park at Drive.com.au takes a ride in a battery-powered version of Holden’s popular family car:

EV Engineering, the Port Melbourne based start-up that has taken nine Commodore family cars, gutted them of their V6 and V8 petrol drivetrains and replaced them with swappable batteries, a recharging cord and a powerful electric motor, is finally ready to trial its technology…..On paper, the EV Engineering Commodore produces 140kW of power and an impressive 400Nm of torque almost as soon as you squeeze the throttle. Engineers wanted to match the regular Commodore’s 8.7-second sprint from rest to 100km/h, but the way the battery-powered car builds speed means it can gather the same speed within 8.5……

Colin Twiggs

Using a top-down approach, Colin identifies key macro trends in the global economy before evaluating selected opportunities using a combination of fundamental and technical analysis.

February 7, 2013

When galaxies collide – the enormity of space

Two Galaxies Collide

Amazing photo from Hubble space telescope depicts the enormity of space. When two galaxies pass through or close by each other the competing gravitational fields tear the galaxies apart. The upper left galaxy used to be a normal spiral galaxy until about 100 million years ago when the one on the right approached too close. You get an idea of the scale when you consider that each of the pin-pricks of light is an individual star with its own solar system.

Our own Milky Way galaxy contains between 100 billion and 400 billion stars, but even galaxies are dwarfed by massive superclusters. Fraser Cain at Universe Today explains:

The supercluster we live in is known as the Virgo Supercluster. It’s an enormous collection of more than a million galaxies, stretching across a region of space 110 million light-years across. Our Sun is just one member of the Milky Way, and the Milky Way is part of a collection of galaxies known as the Local Group. This contains three large spiral galaxies: the Milky Way, Andromeda, and the Triangulum Galaxy, as well as a few dozen dwarf galaxies. The Local Group is just one member of the Virgo Cluster. This is a collection of 1200-2000 galaxies that stretch across 15 million light-years of space. And then, the Virgo Cluster is just one cluster in the Virgo Supercluster.

……The Virgo Supercluster is just one of millions of superclusters across the Universe.

If the average galaxy is only 1/100th of the size of the Milky Way (i.e. between 1 and 4 billion stars) and the average supercluster contains a million galaxies, then the universe contains at least 1 Sextillion (or 10^18) stars.

See more photos at BuzzFeed: 18 Astounding Hubble Photos Released In 2012 | Donna Dickens

Colin Twiggs

Using a top-down approach, Colin identifies key macro trends in the global economy before evaluating selected opportunities using a combination of fundamental and technical analysis.

February 7, 2013

Japanese Yen: How long will the rally last?

This long-term semi-log chart of the dollar against the yen puts the current rally into perspective. Expect resistance at ¥100. Breakout would signal reversal of the 40-year down-trend, while respect would indicate another test of ¥75.

Euro/USD

Colin Twiggs

Using a top-down approach, Colin identifies key macro trends in the global economy before evaluating selected opportunities using a combination of fundamental and technical analysis.