Category: US & Canada

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US Stock Market: Bulls vs. Bears; Historians vs. Risk Takers? | The Big Picture

Very negative pictures can be painted on the outcomes of the European sovereign debt crisis. Other negatives can point to more deteriorating factors in the United States, such as the weak housing market and the high unemployment rate. In our view, all of these factors are known. They have been established for some time. They have been mixed into the pricing expectations in markets. In essence, they are “old news”.

via US Stock Market: Bulls vs. Bears; Historians vs. Risk Takers? | The Big Picture.

I have heard this often of late: “all of these risks are already priced into the market”. Isn’t that the same old Efficient Market Hypothesis that failed so spectacularly? The market will price the risk, but there is no guarantee that the risk is correctly calculated. Look no further than June 2007 to May 2008 for an example of how the market priced risk at the start of the sub-prime crisis.

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Fed’s Kocherlakota on Why Balance Sheet Expansion Need Not Be Inflationary – Real Time Economics – WSJ

I’ve mentioned how the Federal Reserve has bought over $2 trillion of government securities. It has funded that purchase by tripling the amount of deposits held by banks with the Fed — what are called bank reserves.

……. Banks have few good lending opportunities, and so they’re not trying to attract deposits. As a result, they are keeping nearly $1.6 trillion of reserves at the Fed in excess of what they need to back their deposits.

…… Some observers are concerned that ……. the banks’ excess reserves will serve as kindling for an inflationary fire. This concern would have been entirely appropriate three years ago. But in October 2008, Congress granted the Federal Reserve the power to pay interest on bank reserves. Right now, that interest rate is 25 basis points, or 0.25%. By raising that rate judiciously, the Fed has the ability to deter banks from using their reserves to create money, and through this mechanism, the Fed can prevent inflation.

via Fed’s Kocherlakota on Why Balance Sheet Expansion Need Not Be Inflationary – Real Time Economics – WSJ.

Monetary expansion through further asset purchases by the Fed (quantitative easing) would be ineffective, simply boosting the level of excess reserves held by banks on deposit at the Fed. Monetary tightening would be more difficult, but could be achieved by raising the interest rate paid on excess reserves in order to discourage banks from using their excess reserves. That would raise the overnight rate (fed funds rate) in the market and restrict banks from expanding their balance sheets.

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A Proven Principle Behind Obama’s Jobs Plan – NYTimes.com

It wasn’t until the 1940s that economists realized that a balanced-budget stimulus could be effective, too. As I’ve discussed in earlier columns, economists starting with Walter S. Salant and Paul A. Samuelson realized that during a depression or in near-depression conditions, any government expenditure fully funded by taxes will increase national income approximately one for one, without raising national debt. This is known as the balanced-budget multiplier.

The public improvements suggested in the president’s proposal would have been fully paid for by the bill’s tax surcharge. And any new legislation we now consider could also pay for such improvements with tax increases, so as not to raise the national debt even temporarily. This idea should still have common-sense appeal to Americans in this time of high unemployment, just as the idea of winter work does on the farm.

via A Proven Principle Behind Obama’s Jobs Plan – NYTimes.com.

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The Global Jobs Challenge – Michael Spence – Project Syndicate

What does it mean – for individuals, businesses, and governments – that structural adjustment is falling further and further behind the global forces that are causing pressure for structural change? Above all, it means that expectations are broadly inconsistent with reality, and need to adjust, in some cases downward. But distributional effects need to be taken seriously and addressed. The burden of weak or non-existent recoveries should not be borne by the unemployed, including the young. In the interest of social cohesion, market outcomes need to be modified to create a more even distribution of incomes and benefits, both now and in inter-temporal terms. After all, underinvestment now implies diminished opportunity in the future.

via The Global Jobs Challenge – Michael Spence – Project Syndicate.

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Fedex & UPS

Bellwether transport stock Fedex displays a bear market rally with a target of 80. UPS is even stronger, having broken out from its trading range of the last 2 months to signal a re-test of its 2011 high. Not enough to indicate an up-turn but encouraging all the same.

Fedex and UPS

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TSX 60 rally

Canada’s TSX 60 index is headed for a test of the descending trendline and resistance at 730 — another bear market rally.  13-Week Twiggs Money Flow oscillating around the zero line indicates hesitancy. Respect of resistance would indicate another test of support at 650*.

TSX 60 Index

* Target calculation: 650 – ( 730 – 650 ) = 570

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S&P 500 monthly chart

A monthly chart of the S&P 500 index gives a clearer picture. Although the Nasdaq is advancing strongly, the S&P 500 is stuck below its long-term trendline. Note the similarity to March-May 2008 rally. Breakout above 1250 would be a bullish sign, similar to the May 2008 breakout above 1400, but retreat below the former resistance level (1250) would give a strong bear warning. Likewise, a 63-day Twiggs Momentum peak below the zero line would signal a strong primary down-trend.

S&P 500 Index Monthly

* Target calculation: 1100 – ( 1250 – 1100 ) = 950

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Nasdaq hints at recovery

Dow Jones Industrial Average is testing resistance at 11700. Breakout would warn of a primary advance, but the market is prone to false signals because of excessive volatility and it would be prudent to wait for confirmation. Respect of 11700, or a false break above 11700, would re-visit support at 10600.

Dow Jones Industrial Average

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

The S&P 500 is similarly testing resistance at 1230 on the weekly chart. Breakout would signal an advance to 1350, while respect would indicate another test of 1100. Breakout above the declining trendline on 13-week Twiggs Money Flow suggests nothing more than a secondary reaction (bear market rally). See the monthly chart.

S&P 500 Index

* Target calculation: 1100 – ( 1250 – 1100 ) = 950

The Nasdaq 100 index, however, broke through 2350 and is headed for its July high. Bullish divergence on 13-week Twiggs Money Flow indicates reversal to an up-trend. Breakout above 2440 would confirm, offering a target of 2800*.

Nasdaq 100 Index

* Target calculation: 2400 + ( 2400 – 2000 ) = 2800

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Roubini: Moving From the Post-Bubble, Post-Bust Economy to Growth | Credit Writedowns

It is not only the U.S. economy that is in peril right now. …Europe is struggling to prevent the sovereign debt problems of its peripheral Euro-zone economies from spiraling into a full-fledged banking crisis… Meanwhile, China and other large emerging economies… are beginning to experience slowdowns…Nor is renewed recession the only threat we now face. Even if a return to negative growth rates is somehow avoided, there will remain a real and present danger that Europe and the United States alike fall into an indefinitely lengthy period of negligible growth, high unemployment and deflation, much as Japan has experienced over the past 20 years following its own stock-and-real estate bubble and burst of the early 1990s.

via Roubini: Moving From the Post-Bubble, Post-Bust Economy to Growth | Credit Writedowns.

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Euro rallies on hope of bank rescue

The euro is headed for a test of $1.40 against the greenback, on the hope that European banks will be re-capitalized after taking a haircut on the PIIGS bonds. There still appears to be some confusion — I suspect deliberate — as to who will pay, with German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble suggesting that banks first attempt to raise money from investors. Given the current state of financial markets, private investment will be scarce and European taxpayers are likely to end up with sizable stakes in a number of banks. Expect resistance at $1.40 to be followed by another test of support at $1.30*.

EURUSD

* Target calculation: 1.40 – ( 1.50 – 1.40 ) = 1.30

The pound is similarly headed for resistance at $1.60. Respect would signal another test of $1.53.

GBPUSD

* Target calculation: 1.53 – ( 1.60 – 1.53 ) = 1.46

Canada’s Loonie and the Aussie dollar both benefited from a surge in commodity prices. Expect the CADUSD to find resistance at parity, followed by another test of support at $0.94.

CADUSD

* Target calculation: 1.00 – ( 1.06 – 1.00 ) = 0.94

The Aussie will find resistance between $1.02 and the descending trendline. Respect is likely and would indicate another test of $0.94.

AUDUSD

* Target calculation: 1.02 – ( 1.10 – 1.02 ) = 0.94

The Aussie has formed a broad double bottom against its Kiwi counterpart. AUDNZD breakout above $1.28 would signal a primary advance to $1.32*.

AUDNZD

* Target calculation: 1.28 + ( 1.28 – 1.24 ) = 1.32

Support is holding firm on the dollar-yen cross — with assistance no doubt from the BOJ. Expect a narrow range between 76 and 78.

USDJPY

The South African rand is testing support at R7.70 against the greenback, after penetrating its rising trendline. Probably because of all the visitors returning early from the Rugby World Cup. 🙂 Apparently they have invited the referee to run a series of clinics in South Africa on his novel interpretation of the forward-pass rule. I suggest that he decline — it could get violent. Failure of support would offer a target of R7.00*

USDZAR

* Target calculation: 7.70 – ( 8.40 – 7.70 ) = 7.00

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