Fedex

Bellwether transport stock Fedex continues to test support at $88, the neckline for a double top reversal. Long tails on the last two candles suggest short-term buying pressure, but bearish divergence on 13-week Twiggs Money Flow warns of long-term selling pressure. A close below $86.50 would confirm that economic activity is declining.

Fedex

* Target calculation: 88 – ( 96 – 88 ) = 80

long-term

Canada: TSX 60

Canada’s TSX 60 continues to consolidate between 675 and 700. Upward breakout would suggest a primary advance to 775*, while failure of support would target the primary level at 650. Rising 13-week Twiggs Money Flow indicates buying pressure, favoring resumption of the primary up-trend.

TSX 60 Index

* Target calculation: 725 + ( 725 – 675 ) = 775

US: S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100

The S&P 500 respected support at 1350/1370, again confirming the primary up-trend signaled by 63-day Twiggs Momentum in December 2011. Immediate target for the advance is 1450*. Reversal below 1350 is unlikely but would warn of a correction to 1300.

S&P 500 Index

* Target calculation: 1300 + ( 1300 – 1150 ) = 1450

The Nasdaq 100 gapped above 2700, on its way to a re-test of resistance at 2800. Completion of the flag formation indicates another primary advance. Reversal below 2650 is unlikely but would warn of a stronger correction. Retreat of 21-day Twiggs Money Flow below zero would also give a bear warning, while respect of the zero line would indicate buying pressure.

Nasdaq 100 Index

* Target calculation: 2800 + ( 2800 – 2650 ) = 2950

Abundance of land, shortage of housing | Institute of Economic Affairs

Kristian Niemietz looks at how housing costs in the UK have exploded in recent decades. Real-terms house prices in 2011 were more than two-and-a-half-times higher than in 1975, with rent levels following suit. In the USA, Germany and Switzerland, real-terms house prices are still close to their 1975 levels.

· Housing affordability measures show housing to be unaffordable in every single one of the 33 regions in the UK.

· The main difference between the UK and its north-western European neighbours is not in demographics, but in completion rates of new dwellings.

· Empirical evidence from around the world shows that planning restrictions are the key determinant of housing costs.

via Abundance of land, shortage of housing | Institute of Economic Affairs.

Forex: Japanese Yen

The greenback is consolidating between ¥80 and ¥82 against the Japanese Yen. Recovery above ¥82 would indicate a fresh primary advance, with a target of ¥90*. Respect of zero by 63-day Twiggs Momentum would confirm a strong primary up-trend.

USD/Japanese Yen

* Target calculation: 85 + ( 85 – 80 ) = 90

Forex: Euro and Pound Sterling

The euro continues to test medium-term support at $1.30. With the dollar currently “the best horse in the glue factory”, support is likely to fail, signaling a re-test of the primary level at $1.26. A 63-day Twiggs Momentum peak below zero would indicate continuation of the primary down-trend; failure of primary support would confirm.

Euro

* Target calculation: 1.26 – ( 1.35 – 1.26 ) = 1.17

Sterling is testing resistance at $1.62. Recovery of 63-day Twiggs Momentum above zero indicates a primary advance, but news that the UK has dipped back into recession may inhibit further gains. Reversal below the rising trendline would warn of another test of primary support at $1.53, while breakout above $1.62 would signal an advance to the 2011 high of $1.67.

Pound Sterling

Forex: Canada's Loonie breaks out

The Loonie broke through resistance at $1.01 against the greenback, indicating an advance to the 2011 high of $1.06. This confirms the earlier signal when 63-day Twiggs Momentum recovered above zero.

Canadian Dollar/USD

* Target calculation: 1.01 + ( 1.01 – 0.96 ) = 1.06

Forex: Aussie Dollar and South African Rand

The Aussie Dollar encountered support at $1.03, evidenced by several long tails on the daily chart. Recovery above $1.045 would confirm that the correction has ended and would signal another advance to $1.08. Respect of zero by 63-day Twiggs Momentum would confirm the advance.

Aussie Dollar/USD

The Aussie is declining against the South African Rand. Failure of support at R7.90/R8.00 would test the rising trendline around the R7.50 mark. Breach of the trendline and/or follow-through of 63-day Twiggs Momentum below zero would warn of a primary down-trend.

Aussie Dollar/South African Rand

* Target calculation: 8.00 – ( 8.50 – 8.00 ) = 7.50

An earnings season only a pessimist could love – The Globe and Mail

With more than 25 per cent of S&P 500 companies having reported their first-quarter results, 80 per cent have exceeded analysts’ consensus profit estimates – a record pace, and well above the historical average of 62 per cent.

….The record “beat rate,” as earnings trackers call it, can’t gloss over the fact that earnings forecasts have been in decline for months – leaving expectations so low that topping them is a dubious achievement……..Major earnings-tracking services such as Factset, Thomson Reuters Research and S&P Capital IQ expect S&P 500 year-over-year earnings growth of between 4 and 4.5 per cent for the quarter ended March 31. That would be the weakest profit growth in more than two years.

via An earnings season only a pessimist could love – The Globe and Mail.

Durable-Goods Orders Fall – WSJ.com

March orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, which economists consider a proxy for business investment, fell 0.8%. The weakness extended to a host of categories, including machinery, computers and primary metals. Economists cautioned that special factors likely made the report appear somewhat worse than the underlying trend. First, the December expiration of a government tax credit for business investment caused many companies to move ahead new orders, which translated into artificial weakness in the early-year figures.

via Durable-Goods Orders Fall – WSJ.com.