Countries & Regions Archives - Page 200 of 374

July 15, 2013

FTSE hesitates while DAX gaps ahead

Dow Jones Europe Index is ranging between 270 and 290 on the weekly chart, indicating a weak advance after earlier breaking long-term resistance at 265. Breakout above 290 would signal continuation, but reversal below 270 remains as likely and would warn of a reversal; confirmed if the index follows-through below 265.
Dow Jones Europe Index
The FTSE 100 broke resistance at 6500 (from the March 2013 peak), indicating an advance to 6900. But tall shadows (or candlewicks) on Thursday and Friday warn of short-term selling pressure and reversal of 21-day Twiggs Money Flow below zero strengthens the signal. Breach of support at 6400 would warn of another test of primary support at 6000.
FTSE 100 Index

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

Germany’s DAX gapped above the declining trendline, signaling another primary advance, with a target of 9300*. Breach of resistance at 8500 would confirm. Recovery of 21-day Twiggs Money Flow above zero indicates medium-term buying pressure. Reversal below 8000 is unlikely, but would warn of another test of 7700.
DAX Index

* Target calculation: 8500 + ( 8500 – 7700 ) = 9300

July 15, 2013April 18, 2024

ASX 200 consolidates while Asia rallies

China’s Shanghai Composite Index continued its rally on Monday, headed for a test of 2150. Last week’s tall shadow (or candlewick) indicates selling pressure. Respect of resistance is likely and reversal below 1950 would signal a primary decline, with a target of the 2008 low at 1700. Reversal of 13-week Twiggs Money Flow below zero would strengthen the bear signal.

Dow Jones Shanghai Index

Last week’s dragonfly doji on Japan’s Nikkei 225 also indicates selling pressure, but the higher close hints this may have been resolved. Monday’s open is flat and reversal below last week’s low would warn of another test of primary support at 12500. Penetration of the rising trendline or a lower peak on 13-week Twiggs Money Flow would warn of trend weakness, while breach of primary support at 12500 would signal reversal. But that is some way off and follow-through above 15000 would suggest another advance; confirmed if resistance at 16000 is broken.

Nikkei 225 Index

India’s Sensex is headed for another test of resistance at 20200. Breakout would signal an advance to 22000*. Recovery of 13-week Twiggs Money Flow above its May peak would indicate healthy buying pressure. Respect of resistance at 20200 is unlikely, but would re-test the rising trendline.

BSE Sensex Index

* Target calculation: 20000 + ( 20000 – 18000 ) = 22000

The ASX 200 is consolidating below resistance at 5000. Narrow consolidation is a bullish sign, but reversal below 4850 would warn of another test of primary support at 4650. Breakout above 5000 remains likely and would indicate an advance to 5850* — confirmed if resistance at 5250 is broken. Breach of primary support is unlikely, but would signal a primary down-trend. Oscillation of 21-day Twiggs Money Flow above zero would indicate healthy buying pressure.

ASX 200 Index

* Target calculation: 5250 + ( 5250 – 4650 ) = 5850

July 15, 2013

S&P 500 and TSX advance

The S&P 500 broke resistance at 1675 but the short candle indicates (short-term) selling pressure. Follow-through above the May high at 1690 would confirm the primary advance, with a target of 1800*. The 21-day Twiggs Money Flow trough above zero indicates medium-term buying pressure. Reversal below 1650 is unlikely, but would warn of another test of primary support at 1560.

S&P 500 Index

* Target calculation: 1680 + ( 1680 – 1560 ) = 1800

The VIX below 15 indicates market optimism.

VIX Index

The TSX Composite Index has advanced strongly since the bear trap below 12000. Recovery of 13-week Twiggs Money Flow above zero indicates medium-term buying pressure. Target for the advance is 12900. Breakout would offer a long-term target of 14000*. Reversal below 12000 is unlikely, but would signal a primary down-trend; confirmed if 11750 is broken.

TSX Composite Index

* Target calculation: 13000 + ( 13000 – 12000 ) = 14000

July 11, 2013

US banks face tougher capital requirements

Yalman Onaran and Jesse Hamilton at Bloomberg report on a new joint proposal by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency:

The biggest U.S. banks, after years of building equity, may continue hoarding profits instead of boosting dividends as they face stricter capital rules than foreign competitors.

The eight largest firms, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS), would need to retain capital equal to at least 5 percent of assets, while their banking units would have to hold a minimum of 6 percent, U.S. regulators proposed yesterday. The international equivalent, ignoring the riskiness of assets, is 3 percent. The banks have until 2018 to fully comply.

The U.S. plan goes beyond rules approved by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to prevent a repeat of the 2008 crisis, which almost destroyed the financial system. The changes would make lenders fund more assets with capital that can absorb losses instead of using borrowed money. Bankers say this could trigger asset sales and hurt their ability to lend, hamstringing the nation’s economic recovery.

While the authors term the new regulations “harsh” on bankers and likely to freeze bank lending, existing lax capital requirements give bankers a free ride at the expense of the taxpayer. Their claims are baseless:

existing bank leverage is way too high for a stable financial system;
US banks are flush with funds, holding more than $1.8 trillion in excess reserves on deposit with the Fed and $2.6 trillion invested in Treasuries and quasi-government mortgage-backed securities, so talk of a lending freeze is farcical;
banks can function just as well with equity funding as with deposit funding;
higher capital ratios will make it cheaper for banks to raise additional capital as lower leverage will reduce the risk premium.

So why are bankers squealing so loudly? In a nutshell: bonuses. Higher capital requirements and no free ride at taxpayers’ expense would mean that shareholders claim a bigger slice of the pie, with less left over for management bonuses.

For a detailed rebuttal of bankers’ claims see Anat Admati and Martin Hellwig.

The big four Australian banks should take note. They currently maintain between 4.1% (CBA) and 4.5% (WBC) of capital against lending exposure. Raising the ratio to 6.0% would require 33% to 50% new capital.

July 11, 2013

Forex: Dollar falls sharply against Euro, Aussie, Loonie and Yen

The dollar fell sharply against the Euro and Sterling. The Euro jumped from primary support at $1.28 to medium-term resistance at $1.32. Breakout above $1.32 would suggest a primary advance, with a target of $1.40* — confirmed if resistance at $1.34 is broken. But oscillation of 63-day Twiggs Momentum around zero does not indicate a strong trend and respect of resistance is just as likely.

Euro/USD

* Target calculation: 1.34 + ( 1.34 – 1.28 ) = 1.40

Pound Sterling is weakening against the euro, breach of medium-term support at €1.16 suggesting a test of primary support at €1.1350 on the weekly chart. A 13-week Twiggs Momentum peak below zero would indicate a strong primary down-trend. Breach of primary support would offer a target of the 2011 low at €1.10.
Pound Sterling

The greenback retreated below support at ¥100 against the Yen. Recovery above ¥100 would indicate continuation of the advance, with a target of ¥114*. Respect of the new resistance level, however, remains as likely and would warn of a test primary support at ¥94.

USD/JPY

* Target calculation: 104 + ( 104 – 94 ) = 114

Canada’s Loonie broke resistance at $0.96, suggesting a rally to the descending trendline and resistance at $0.9850 against the greenback. Reversal below $0.96, however, would warn that all bets are off and another test of support at $0.9450 is likely. 63-Day Twiggs Momentum oscillating below zero indicates a healthy primary down-trend.

Canadian Loonie

The Aussie Dollar penetrated its secondary descending trendline, suggesting a rally to test the primary trendline at $0.96. But first we need a break of resistance at $0.93, while follow-through above $0.94 would strengthen the signal. Respect of resistance, however, would warn of another test of immediate support at $0.90, while the long-term target remains at $0.80* against the greenback. The RBA is not averse to this: they need a softer dollar to cushion the impact of falling commodity prices.

Aussie Dollar

* Target calculation: 0.95 – ( 1.10 – 0.95 ) = 0.80

July 10, 2013

S&P 500 hesitates but ASX 200 follows through

The S&P 500 is testing resistance at 1650. A 21-day Twiggs Money Flow trough above the zero line would signal a healthy primary up-trend. Target for the advance would be 1800*. Follow-through above 1660 would strengthen the bull signal, but reversal below 1640 would warn of another test of 1600 — and a possible inverted head and shoulders pattern (as shown by the arrows) if support at 1600 is respected.

S&P 500 Index

* Target calculation: 1680 + ( 1680 – 1560 ) = 1800

The ASX 200 found resistance at 4900, with a tall shadow (or wick) on Wednesday’s candle. A healthy start this morning suggests a test of 5000. Breakout would offer a long-term target of 5850*. Reversal below 4860 remains unlikely, but would warn of another test of support at 4650.

ASX 200 Index

* Target calculation: 5250 + ( 5250 – 4650 ) = 5850

July 10, 2013

Making banks hold more capital is not going to wreck the economy

Mark Gongloff quotes Anat Admati and Martin Hellwig of the Max Planck Institute, authors of the recent book The Bankers’ New Clothes: What’s Wrong With Banking And What To Do About It, from their point-by-point rebuttal of bankers arguments that they should not be required to hold more capital:

“Many banks, including most of the large banks in the United States, are not even using all the funding they obtain from depositors to make loans,” Admati and Hellwig write. “If banks do not make loans, therefore, the problem is not a lack of funds nor an inability to raise more funds for profitable loans, but rather the banks’ choices to focus on other investments instead.”

July 9, 2013

NYSE Euronext to Take Over Libor | WSJ.com

Libor, the scandal-tarred benchmark that underpins interest rates on trillions of dollars in financial contracts, is being sold to NYSE Euronext, NYX -0.78% the U.S.-based company that runs the New York Stock Exchange. The deal, designed to restore Libor’s international credibility, was announced Tuesday by a British government commission and the NYSE.

From DAVID ENRICH and CASSELL BRYAN-LOW.

July 9, 2013

ASX 200 rallies despite weakness in Asia

An outside day reversal on Japan’s Nikkei 225 warns of retracement to test support at 13500. Respect of support — or a trough above the zero line on 21-day Twiggs Money Flow would indicate a healthy up-trend. Breach of the rising trendline is unlikely, but would warn of a test of primary support at 12500.

Nikkei 225 Index

China’s Shanghai Composite Index is testing long-term support at 1950 — as shown on the monthly chart. Failure of support is likely and would warn of a test of the 2008 low at 1700. Reversal of 13-week Twiggs Money Flow below zero would strengthen the bear signal. Respect of support at 1950 is unlikely, but would indicate another test of 2400/2500.

Dow Jones Shanghai Index

India’s Sensex respected its rising trendline and is likely to test resistance at 20000. Breach of resistance would signal a primary advance, with a target of 22000*. Reversal below 18500 is unlikely, but would warn of reversal to a primary down-trend. Recovery of 13-week Twiggs Money Flow above zero would indicate buying pressure.

BSE Sensex Index

Singapore’s Straits Times Index remains weak after finding support at 3100. Reversal of 13-week Twiggs Money Flow below zero after bearish divergence would warn of a primary down-trend. Breach of support at 3100 would confirm. Recovery above 3300, while unlikely, would signal a fresh primary advance.

Straits Times Index

The ASX 200 broke resistance at 4860, indicating the correction is over. Follow-through above 4900 would strengthen the signal. Recovery of 21-day Twiggs Money Flow above zero indicates healthy medium-term buying pressure. Breach of resistance at 5000 would offer a long-term target of 5850*. Reversal below 4860 is unlikely, but would warn of another test of support at 4650.

ASX 200 Index

* Target calculation: 5250 + ( 5250 – 4650 ) = 5850