UK & Europe Archives - Page 36 of 89

September 3, 2013

Global markets bearish but ASX, India find support

US markets are closed for Labor Day. The S&P 500 ended last week testing its rising trendline and support at 1630. Breach would reinforce the bearish divergence on 21-day Twiggs Money Flow, indicating a test of primary support at 1560. Recovery above the descending trendline is unlikely at present, but would warn the correction is ending. In the long-term, failure of primary support would offer a target of 1400*.

S&P 500 Index

* Target calculation: 1550 – ( 1700 – 1550 ) = 1400

VIX below 20 suggests a bull market.
S&P 500 Index

The FTSE 100 closed above initial resistance at 6500. Follow-through would suggest the correction is over and another attempt at 6750 likely. Strong bearish divergence on 13-week Twiggs Money Flow, however, warns of selling pressure and breakout above 6750 is unlikely. Reversal below 6400 would warn of a test of primary support at 6000.

FTSE 100 Index

Germany’s DAX encountered stubborn resistance at 8500. Reversal below 8000 would test primary support at 7600, while breakout above 8500 would offer a target of 9000*.

DAX Index

* Target calculation: 8400 + ( 8400 – 7800 ) = 9000

Japan’s Nikkei 225 recovered above 13500 and follow-through above the descending trendline would suggest the correction is over and another test of resistance at 15000 is likely. Reversal below 13200, however, would indicate a test of primary support at 12500. Earlier bearish divergence on 13-week Twiggs Money Flow warns of long-term selling pressure.

Nikkei 225 Index

China’s Shanghai Composite is testing resistance at 2100/2120. Bearish divergence on 13-week Twiggs Money Flow warns of selling pressure. Reversal below 2050 would indicate another test of primary support at 1950. Breakout above 2200 and the descending trendline is unlikely, but would suggest that the down-trend is ending.

Shanghai Composite Index

India’s Sensex encountered strong support at 18000/18500, evidenced by the long tails on the weekly candles and rising 13-week Twiggs Money Flow. Expect another test of resistance at 20500. Follow-through above 19000 would strengthen the signal.

BSE Sensex Index

The ASX 200 is headed for a test of 5250 after breaking resistance at 5150. Rising 13-week Twiggs Money Flow indicates medium-term buying pressure. Breakout above 5250 would be a welcome sign, suggesting another primary advance, but respect of resistance and a lower peak on Twiggs Money Flow would warn of a reversal.

ASX 200 Index

* Target calculation: 5250 + ( 5250 – 4750 ) = 5750

August 26, 2013

High-speed gravy trains

Infrastructure spending is fraught with pitfalls. One of the most dangerous is lobbying by special interest groups who stand to profit from the project.

Dr Richard Wellings from the Institute of Economic Affairs recently completed a report on the UK’s £43 billion High Speed 2 rail project — close to £80 billion if fully costed — and comments:

It’s time the government abandoned its plans to proceed with HS2. The evidence is now overwhelming that this will be unbelievably costly to the taxpayer while delivering incredibly poor value for money.

It’s shameful that at a time of such financial difficulty for many families the government is caving in to lobbying from businesses, local councils and self-interested politicians more concerned with winning votes than governing in the national interest.

The conclusions in his report The High-Speed Gravy Train: Special Interests, Transport Policy and Government Spending are even more damning:

The decision to build High Speed 2 is not justified by an analysis of the costs and benefits of the scheme. Even the government’s own figures suggest that HS2 represents poor value for money compared with alternative investments in transport infrastructure.
Ministers appear to have disregarded the economic evidence and have chosen to proceed with the project for political reasons. An analysis of the incentives facing transport policymakers provides plausible explanations for their tendency to favour a low-return, high-risk project over high-return, low-risk alternatives.
A group of powerful special interests appears to have had a disproportionate influence on the government’s decision to build HS2. The high-speed-rail lobby includes engineering firms likely to receive contracts to build the infrastructure and trains for HS2, as well as senior officials of the local authorities and transport bureaucracies that expect to benefit from the new line.
An effective lobbying campaign in favour of HS2 was initiated and funded by concentrated interests expecting to make economic gains from the project. This effort appears to have been effective at marshalling support for the scheme among policymakers.
‘Vote buying’ incentives were also important in building political support for a high-speed line. The policy was initially adopted partly as a response to local opposition to Heathrow expansion.
The main losers from HS2 – the taxpayers in every part of the UK who will be forced to fund it – are highly dispersed, and therefore have weak incentives to actively oppose it. By contrast, members of communities along the route, where losses are concentrated, have had very strong incentives to campaign. This pattern of activity has enabled the debate to be misleadingly framed in the media in terms of local objections versus national economic benefits.
Policymakers have strong incentives to ‘buy off’ opposition along the route at the expense of taxpayers, for example by increasing the amount of tunnelling or diverting the line. The large scale of HS2, its high political salience and its potential electoral importance, increase the risk that budgets will be expanded.
Local authorities, transport bureaucracies and business groups are already lobbying central government to fund new infrastructure along the route, with several schemes already identified. HS2 will trigger billions of pounds of additional expenditure on commercially loss-making, taxpayer-funded projects.
Along with design changes to ‘buy off’ opposition and subsidised regeneration projects, these proposals threaten to push total spending far beyond the basic budget. £80 billion plus is a plausible estimate of the overall cost, if these extras and the trains are included.
In addition to the direct costs, there will be even larger opportunity costs from the misallocation of transport investment. Institutional reform is needed to reduce the malign influence of rent-seeking special interests on transport policy. New infrastructure could then be provided on a more economically rational basis.

California is undertaking a similar scale high-speed rail project to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco. Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, has proposed an alternative Hyperloop solution that would transport travellers four times as fast at one-tenth of the cost. Debate still rages over whether the concept is viable, but the fact that alternatives were never adequately explored highlights the dangers inherent in allowing political control of infrastructure spending.

Unless adequate safeguards are in place to minimize political interference and adhere to market-related rates of return on investment, taxpayer funds are likely to be wasted on gigantic projects that are an ongoing burden on the fiscal budget.

August 26, 2013

Europe: Improving but beware of The Joker

Monthly charts best reflect the state of play in Europe. Germany and France are improving but there are still pockets of weakness elsewhere that threaten to destabilize the monetary union.

Germany’s DAX recovered above its 2007 high at 8200. Reversal below 8000 would indicate hesitancy, with another test of primary support (and rising trendline) at 7600. But the up-trend is intact and follow-through above 8500 would offer a long-term target of 9500*. Momentum is slowing but 13-week Twiggs Momentum holding above zero suggests continuation of the up-trend.
DAX Index

* Target calculation: 8500 + ( 8500 – 7500 ) = 9500

The FTSE 100 fell through support at 6500 but the long tail indicates buying pressure. Reversal below 6400 would confirm a correction to the rising trendline. Breakout above 6750 would signal an advance to the 1999 high of 7000, but strong bearish divergence on 13-week Twiggs Money Flow warns of a correction. Breach of primary support at 6000 would signal a reversal.
FTSE 100 Index
France’s CAC-40 is headed for another test of its 2011 high at 4200. Breakout would offer a long-term target of 4800*. Reversal below 3600 is unlikely but would signal a primary down-trend.
CAC-40 Index

* Target calculation: 4200 + ( 4200 – 3600 ) = 4800

Italy’s MIB Index is testing resistance at 18000. Momentum is weakening so one needs to be prepared for another correction. But breakout would offer a target of 21000*.

* Target calculation: 18000 + ( 18000 – 15000 ) = 21000

Adam Taylor at Business Insider quotes Tim Parks from New York Review of Books:

If Nixon had refused to accept impeachment and had tried somehow to hang on to power, he would have been summarily removed. The same goes for any leader in Europe’s main democracies. Most will step down at the first sign of a serious criminal charge against them, aware that their parties will not support someone who damages their cause. The truly disquieting aspect of the present situation in Italy is not so much Berlusconi’s brazenness, but that his blackmail is possible and credible, that he has such complete control over such a large political party, and that he still commands considerable popular support. Astonishing as it may seem to those not familiar with the country, even serious newspapers and respectable commentators seem reluctant to insist on the enforcement of law, rarely mentioning the details of his crimes and actually giving credence to the argument that removing Berlusconi from the political scene would amount to disenfranchising the millions of voters who supported him at the previous election, as if there was no autonomous party in parliament to represent their views, as if they were not free to choose another leader before the next election.

The Joker may still have the last laugh.
Silvio Berlusconi as The Joker

Reproduced with thanks to Vincos on Flickr.com.

Spain’s Madrid General Index is testing resistance at 900. Momentum is weakening so, again, be prepared for another correction. But breakout above 900 would indicate an advance to 1050*.

* Target calculation: 900 + ( 900 – 750 ) = 1050

August 22, 2013

Global selling pressure

The S&P 500 Index broke medium-term support at 1650 and is headed for a test of the rising trendline. Respect would indicate the primary up-trend is intact, but bearish divergence on 13-week Twiggs Money Flow warns of selling pressure. This is also evidenced by the marginal new high in August. A test of primary support at 1560 is likely. Breach would offer a target of 1400*.

S&P 500 Index

* Target calculation: 1550 – ( 1700 – 1550 ) = 1400

Dow Jones Europe Index also displays marginal new highs in May and August. Penetration of the rising trendline indicates the up-trend is losing momentum — also indicated by bearish divergence on 13-week Twiggs Momentum. Reversal below support at 290 would strengthen the warning, but only failure of support at 270 would signal a trend reversal.

DJ Europe Index

China’s Shanghai Composite Index ran into strong resistance at 2100. Declining 13-week Twiggs Money Flow (below zero) warns of selling pressure. Reversal below 2050 would indicate another test of primary support at 1950, suggesting a decline to 1800*. Breakout above 2200 and the descending trendline is unlikely, but would signal that a bottom has formed.

Shanghai Composite Index

Japan’s Nikkei 225 broke medium-term support at 13500. Follow-through below 13250 would indicate a correction to primary support at 12500. Penetration of the rising trendline suggests that the primary up-trend is losing momentum. Earlier bearish divergence on 13-week Twiggs Money Flow also warns of a reversal. Recovery above the declining trendline is less likely, but would indicate the correction has ended.

Nikkei 225 Index

India’s Sensex broke primary support at 18500, following through below 18000 to remove any doubt. The primary trend has reversed after a triple top and now offers a target of 16500*. Declining 13-week Twiggs Money Flow confirms selling pressure. Recovery above 18500 is unlikely, but would warn of a bear trap.

BSE Sensex Index

* Target calculation: 18500 – ( 20500 – 18500 ) = 16500

The ASX 200 is consolidating in a broadening top around the 2010/2011 high of 5000. Correction to 4900 would be quite acceptable, garnering support for an advance to the upper border, but breach of 4900 would indicate a failed swing, warning of reversal to a primary down-trend. Failure of primary support at 4650 would confirm. Bearish divergence on 13-week Twiggs Money Flow indicates selling pressure; strengthened if the indicator reverses below zero. Respect of support at 5000 is less likely, despite the long tail on today’s candle, but would offer a target of 5300*.

ASX 200 Index

* Target calculation: 5150 + ( 5150 – 5000 ) = 5300

August 21, 2013

Forex: Euro and Aussie retreat

The Euro retreated after a false break above resistance at $1.34, suggesting a test of $1.32. Downward breakout would signal a test of primary support at $1.28, while recovery above $1.34 would indicate a primary advance to $1.40*. Momentum predominantly above zero favors an up-trend.

Euro/USD

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

The greenback is testing the upper border of its downward channel against the Yen. Breakout above ¥98.50 would suggest the correction is over and another test of ¥101.50 likely. Respect of resistance, however, would indicate a test of primary support at ¥94; breach of support at ¥96 would confirm.

USD/JPY

* Target calculation: 102 + ( 102 – 96 ) = 108; 94 – ( 102 – 94 ) = 86;

The Aussie Dollar retreated below $0.90 against the greenback, respect of the descending trendline suggesting another down-swing. Breach of support at $0.8850* would offer a medium-term target of $0.86*, but the long-term target remains at $0.80*.

Aussie Dollar

* Target calculations: 0.89 – ( 0.92 – 0.89 ) = 0.86; 0.95 – ( 1.10 – 0.95 ) = 0.80

August 19, 2013

Targeting the Wealthy Kills Jobs | WSJ.com

T.J. Rodgers compares job creation through private investment to government investment.

Even European socialist democracies are starting to understand that tax-and-spend policies kill jobs. For example, both Italy and Spain have repealed their incentive programs for solar energy along with their “green jobs” because the countries have calculated that for every job created by government investment in green energy, somewhere between 4.8 jobs Italy and 2.2 jobs Spain are lost because of the reciprocal cuts in private investment.

August 15, 2013

Forex: Euro, Aussie and Loonie strengthen

The Euro is consolidating between $1.32 and $1.34. Upward breakout would indicate a primary advance to $1.40*, while reversal below $1.32 would warn of another test of primary support at $1.27. Close oscillation of 13-week Twiggs Momentum around the zero line indicates hesitancy.

Euro/USD

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

Sterling respected primary support at €1.135/€1.140 against the euro. Recovery above €1.165 suggests that a bottom is forming. Penetration of the descending trendline would strengthen the signal. In the longer term, breakout above €1.19 would complete a double bottom with a target of €1.24. Recovery of 13-week Twiggs Momentum above zero would also indicate a primary up-trend. Reversal below €1.165, however, would warn the down-trend is likely to continue. Failure of primary support at €1.14 would confirm.

Sterling/Euro

* Target calculation: 1.19 + ( 1.19 – 1.14 ) = 1.24

The greenback is headed for a test of primary support at ¥94 against the Yen. Breach of short-term support at ¥96 would confirm. In the longer term, breach of primary support at ¥94 would signal a down-trend with an initial target of ¥86*, while recovery above ¥101.50 would indicate an advance to ¥108*.

USD/JPY

* Target calculation: 102 + ( 102 – 96 ) = 108; 94 – ( 102 – 94 ) = 86;

Canada’s Loonie is consolidating between $0.96 and $0.975 against the greenback. Upward breakout would penetrate the descending trendline, suggesting that a bottom is forming, while reversal below $0.96 would test primary support at $0.945.

Canadian Loonie

Short retracement of the Aussie Dollar against the greenback suggests buying pressure. Follow-through above $0.92 would test the descending trendline and resistance at $0.93. Breakout is unlikely, but would warn that the down-trend is ending. Reversal below medium-term support at $0.90 would warn of a decline to $0.87*, with a long-term target of $0.80*.

Aussie Dollar

* Target calculations: 0.90 – ( 0.93 – 0.90 ) = 0.87; 0.95 – ( 1.10 – 0.95 ) = 0.80

August 12, 2013

Europe: DAX bullish, but FTSE selling pressure

Germany’s DAX recovered above the 2007 high at 8200. Follow-through above 8500 would offer a long-term target of 9500*. Rising 13-week Twiggs Money Flow indicates buying pressure. Reversal below 8000 is now unlikely, but would warn of another test of primary support at 7700.
DAX Index

* Target calculation: 8500 + ( 8500 – 7500 ) = 9500

The FTSE 100 is consolidating between 6500 and the 2007 high of 6750. Breakout above 6750 would signal an advance to the 1999 high of 7000. Bearish divergence on 13-week Twiggs Money Flow, however, warns of a correction. Reversal below 6500 is likely, and would indicate a test of 6000.
FTSE 100 Index

Spain’s Madrid General Index is testing resistance at 900. Long-term 13-week Twiggs Money Flow remains weak, but breakout above 900 would indicate an advance to 1050*.

* Target calculation: 900 + ( 900 – 750 ) = 1050

August 8, 2013

S&P 500 and Europe cause ASX 200 to hesitate

Mildly bearish sentiment in the US and Europe is causing hesitancy on the ASX 200, while China continues to consolidate above long-term support.

The S&P 500 retreated below resistance at 1700, indicating a test of support at 1675. Longish tails on the last two candles are indicative of buying. Recovery above 1700 would signal continuation of the advance to 1800*. Bearish divergence on 21-day Twiggs Money Flow, however, reflects selling pressure and breach of 1675 is more likely, testing the stronger support level at 1650. Primary support is some way off at 1560.

S&P 500 Index

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

Recovery of Dow Jones Europe Index above 290 indicates an advance to 310*. Follow-through above 295 strengthens the signal, but divergence on 13-week Twiggs Momentum suggests that a top may be forming. Reversal of TMO below zero would strengthen the warning.

Dow Jones Europe Index

* Target calculation: 290+ ( 290 – 270 ) = 310

China’s Shanghai Index holds steady above long-term support at 1950. Breakout above 2100 would suggest a rally to the downward trendline, but declining 13-week Twiggs Money Flow warns of selling pressure and breach of support at 1950 would offer a target of 1750*.

Shanghai Index

* Target calculation: 1950 – ( 2150 – 1950 ) = 1750

Australia’s ASX 200 found support at 5000 after falling sharply on Wednesday. Recovery above 5100 would indicate another test of 5250. Oscillation of 21-day Twiggs Money Flow close to zero suggests hesitancy. Breach of 5000 is as likely, and would test the stronger support level of 4850, providing a more robust foundation for further advances.

ASX 200 Index

August 8, 2013

The Magical World Where McDonald’s Pays $15 an Hour? It’s Australia | The Atlantic

Jordan Weissmann compares wages paid to McDonalds workers in Australia and the US, raising four interesting points.

Firstly, McDonalds (or “Maccas” if we use its colloquial name in Australia) is profitable in both low-wage and high-wage countries:

The land down under is, of course, not the only high-wage country in the world where McDonald’s does lucrative business. The company actually earns more revenue out of Europe than it does from the United States. France, with its roughly $12.00 hourly minimum, has more than 1,200 locations. Australia has about 900.

They achieve this partly through higher prices, but also through adjusting their staff structure in Australia.

The country allows lower pay for teenagers, and the labor deal McDonald’s struck with its employees currently pays 16-year-olds roughly US$8-an-hour, not altogether different from what they’d make in the states. In an email, Greg Bamber, a professor at Australia’s Monash University who has studied labor relations in the country’s fast food industry, told me that as a result, McDonald’s relies heavily on young workers in Australia. It’s a specific quirk of the country’s wage system. But it goes to show that even in generally high-pay countries, restaurants try to save on labor where they can.

They also focus on increased productivity.

It stands to reason that in places like Europe and Australia, managers have found ways to get more mileage out of their staff as well. Or if not, they’ve at least managed to replace a few of them with computers. As Michael Schaefer, an analyst with Euromonitor International, told me, fast food franchises in Europe have been some of the earliest adopters of touchscreen kiosks that let customers order without a cashier. As always, the peril of making employees more expensive is that machines become cheaper in comparison.

That is one of the primary dangers of high minimum wages: automation is used to improve employee productivity and shrink the required workforce. Shrinking the national wage bill might seem like good business sense, but if we look at this on a macro scale, reduced incomes lead to reduced consumption and falling sales.

Finally, McDonald’s have attempted to add value to their product range, moving slightly more up-market in order to capture higher prices.

McDonald’s has also helped its bottom line abroad by experimenting with higher margin menu items while trying to court more affluent customers. Way back in 1993, for instance, Australia became home to the first McCafe coffee shops, which sell highly profitable espresso drinks. During the last decade, meanwhile, the company gave its European restaurants a designer make-over and began offering more localized menus meant to draw a higher spending crowd.

If we take McDonald’s as a microcosm of the entire economy, the trade-offs and benefits (or lack thereof) are evident. Funding wage hikes out of increased prices (for the same quality products) is futile. It adds no benefit: the increased wage is eroded by higher prices. Reduced wages for younger workers simply disadvantages older workers, excluding them from certain jobs. Increased productivity — higher sales per employee — on the other hand, can benefit the entire economy.

Improved training or increased automation may increase output, but run the risk of shrinking the jobs pool — unless new jobs created in training or manufacturing are sufficient to offset this. Product innovation, on the other hand, is an immediate win, raising sales while encouraging job growth in new support industries.

How do we encourage product innovation? Higher minimum wages is not the answer. Nor, on its own, is increased investment in research and education. What is needed is a focus on international competitiveness: reducing red tape, ensuring basic goods and services such as electricity, water, shipping and transport are competitively priced, lowering taxes and stabilizing exchange rates. That would encourage the establishment of new industry locally rather than exporting skills and know-how to foreign shores. We need a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, rather than lip-service from politicians.