If you were hoping for some different market moves in 2017, better luck next month. It was more of the same in January, with the DJIA finally limping over the 20,000 mark and world stocks posting a +3.51% return (here’s the countries that make up “world stocks.” Meanwhile, Bonds, Real Estate, Hedge Funds, squeaked out […]
Category: Markets
01
Feb
2017
17
Jan
2017
4 Energy Traders you Won’t See on Bloomberg
It all started at the trail end of 2014. Crude Oil fell significantly below the $100 level and kept heading lower. About that time, a friend of a friend asked where he should turn to find a few interesting ways to play a “bounce” in Crude Oil. We obliged, writing “How to Play A Bounce in Crude […]
09
Jan
2017
What can Managed Futures expect from ‘The Great Rotation’?
Originally posted on CTA Intelligence When the markets don’t react in the way you think they should, it’s a harsh reminder of the rule that past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. For the last five years, the street has been littered with failed trades trying to correctly pick the exact moment the […]
30
Dec
2016
The Best and Worst Futures Markets of 2016
Twenty-sixteen is just about in the books, which means it’s our cue to draw some quick conclusions about the performance of the various commodity futures markets. Now that crude oil looks like it’s bottomed off from it’s multi-year decline, people are starting to get bullish on long-only commodity ETFs – with some even suggesting the […]
21
Dec
2016
What happens when the U.S. Dollar AND Rates Rise?
While the rest of the world is talking about new all-time highs in the stock market, there’s another rally that deserves attention, the U.S. Dollar Index. Over the past six months, the U.S. Dollar Index is up 10.42% — a substantial move for the world’s reserve currency. (Disclaimer: Past performance is not necessarily indicative of […]
19
Dec
2016
Commodity ETFs are a Bad Long Term Bet – Duh
For what seems to be the first time in what we can tell, there are other people out there warning investors of the dangers of Commodity ETFs. This week, the Financial Times beatifically outlined one of the many issues with these sort of products, such as $USO, $UNG, and $CORN. Investors have learnt the hard way […]
13
Dec
2016
Crude Oil, a Contender?
We can’t help but look at Crude Oil recently and think of Marlon Brando saying – “I used to be Somebody.” Although our memories aren’t as good as Google’s. Here’s the actual line: “I could’a had class, I could’a been a contender, I could’a been somebody” In Crude Oil’s case… it’s not a could’a been, […]
06
Dec
2016
Everyone’s Banking on a Rate Hike
When the Federal Open Market Committee finally raised rates to the 0.25% to 0.50% last December, it was the first time in seven years. Indeed, the fact that we just quote those minuscule rates and a range instead of fixed level shows just how different a rate environment we ended up in after those seven […]
01
Dec
2016
What’s Happened Thus Far in 2016
Twenty-sixteen is proving to be quite a cyclical year. What started as a free fall for stocks, world stocks, bonds, and commodities in the first two months ended with a quick recovery the months following. At one point the current leaders on the scoreboard were down -7.74% (World Stocks) -7.25% (Commodities) -5.11% (Stocks) and -4.80% […]
30
Nov
2016
Are Alternative Investments Worth It?
We’ve been waiting… and waiting… and waiting… for the markets. to. finally. move. With the election over, we’re now seeing it unravel. The U.S. Dollar Index is at levels not seen since 2003, Copper has roared up 20% in a week, and Gold is getting crushed. And that short list doesn’t include the biggest “market” […]
