Crude Oil suffered its second weekly fall last week following Trump’s tweets on OPEC & Gas prices. So far the market appears to be paying attention to Trump’s attempt to lower Oil.

Looking closely at the weekly Crude Oil chart, we can see that prior to breaking its uptrend line this week, the price on the weekly chart moved all the way back to a previous support (now resistance) level of $64.30. Once it reached this level, it made a few failed attempts to close above resistance.

This week's follow through selling, saw the price action breach the uptrend line that began in late December ‘18 similar to when the S&P 500 market rally started. The last time Crude Oil breached its uptrend line back in Oct 18 (see circled area), we saw the price of Oil fall further. Potentially -33% lower.

However, this time the breaching of its uptrend line has so far had different movements relative to the breach last October ‘18. For one, the price action of Oil is still trading above its 10 week moving average. Back in Oct 18 when it closed below the uptrend line it also closed below its 10 week moving average.

Another interesting point is back in October ‘18, the S&P 500 weekly price action was following in very similar lock step to Oil prices, with the S&P 500 also breaching its uptrend line & closing below its 10 week moving average. However, this week the S&P 500 has made a new all time high price.

So going forward we have to be open minded that we could see further pull backs ahead for Oil, while at the same time also looking out for the possibility that this could be a pullback / consolidation, within a long term rally even though its broken its uptrend level.

To become more bearish with Oil, we have to see a breach of its current support that it has so far been respected at $61.45, as well as a close below the 10 week moving average this week. If that happens, our next level of support to look for is around $59.

Conversely, to become bullish on Oil, we need to see support of $61.45 held this week, with a clear break above its $64.30 resistance level. If we see this occur, this would be a very bullish signal & a likely move to $67.70 would occur shortly after.

So for now we have to wait and watch to see what unfolds to gain a better understanding on where we head next.

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US Macro Data

The chart below shows the last 2 years of US economic data summarized under 'soft data' which comprises of various surveys on the US economy, 'hard data' which comprises of all actual macro economic data as a whole. 'Hope' which is survey's based data on sentiment on the economy.

From mid 2017 you can see clearly all 3 categories peaked and have been making lower highs and lower lows since then, as the macro data continues to weaken further. This is a trend that has been occurring in most countries around the world. Because of this increasing trend of weak economic data overall, I've been bearish on the US economy for some time now.

This has also let me to suggest there is a high probability of a US recession occurring either in 2019 or early 2020 based on these trend. In fact if you strip out the increase in US Government spending in the last GDP quarter the US would of already reached a negative GDP print.

S&P 500 Chart = Bullish Stocks

Please note: Chart was taken from close 22nd March

Since I'm a trader as well as an investor, I have had to learn to sometimes hold an opposing view that contradicts each other when viewing charts as a trader. Taking the close of the S&P500 chart from Friday, we can see the current trend of US stocks as an index since the end of December, looks a whole lot different to the economic data chart shown on the above chart.

The current trend is moving higher with successive higher lows (green circles) with the green lines highlighting this overall strength. If you look at left side of the chart below from Oct 2018 - Dec 2018 period you can see a different weak down trend, with the market giving clues and warnings (black circles forming lower highs) for US stocks before the sharp declines in late Nov & Dec 18.

Once we broke support in Mid Dec (red circle) we saw a sharp decline for the next 2 weeks. Coming back to current trend in March 19, as a trader I have to keep a bullish stance overall even with the strong selloff we experienced on Friday 22nd March. The bullish stance will hold unless I see the S&P500 close below its most recent higher low around 2740 level. Followed by a confirmed lower high on the charts.

If this doesn't occur then as a trader I need to view any subsequent pullback in stocks, which is likely to continue this week as a healthy consolidation within an uptrend. This explains my reasoning why as a trader I'm bullish US stocks overall, while as an investor I'm bearish the US economy.

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With the release of this week's Gurhaven newsletter, we cover some of the top posts from Guruhaven.com from last week. I review just what's going on with Silver, with the likely levels to look out for. Plus our traders and investors from Guruhaven discuss US markets, NASDAQ, Forex, China and more. To view the Silver review and for the round up of great content Click here for the latest newsletter

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Guest Article Written By: Robert Blake

When the US Federal Reserve raises interest rates it always affects the US dollar. In this case, the hike would normally reduce the inflationary pressure, and as a result appreciates the dollar. The latest decision to raise the target for the fed-funds rate to a range between 1.75%-2%, in June of this year, was due to a stronger economy and a healthy US jobs market.

We mentioned previously on Crush the Market how interest rates have been steadily rising since 2015.
With three to four increases forecasted for 2018, the graph of the Fed “dot plot” below illustrates how eight policy makers expect four or more quarter-point increases for the year.

Traditionally, interest rates in the United States averaged about 5.72% from 1971 to 2018, with Money Cafe reporting a high of 20% in March 1980 and a record low of 0.25% in December 2008.

Higher interest rates generally mean a lower economic growth, but also slower inflation. In the past, the best way to achieve full employment and stable prices was to set the inflation rate of the dollar at 2%, which would grow the economy at a healthy pace. The Fed hiked this year, in response to a growing economy and fear of rising inflation, increased interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point. Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, remarked that the “economy is doing very well,” following the rate hike announcement. The graph below shows the historical Fed rates over a period of 47 years.

Historically, even with low interest rates the US dollar enjoyed favorable exchanges rates in relation to major currencies like the Euro or the Pound. Investopedia reveals that this is in part due to the US dollar being the reserve currency for much of the world. As a result of higher interest rates and a strengthening dollar, more Forex traders will be hedging on the US dollar.
FXCM outlines that the Forex market trades an average volume exceeding $5 trillion daily, and the current Fed interest rate plays a factor in determining the value of the US dollar. 

However, it is mainly its perception as a safe haven in uncertain economic times, which has been the main reason for its high value in relation to other currencies. However, it is mainly its perception as a safe haven in uncertain economic times, which has been the main reason for its high value in relation to other currencies.

Bloomberg reported how the dollar spot index, which tracks a number of global currencies against the US dollar, rose temporarily immediately following the Fed announcement.

As was expected, however, the trend that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is following seems to indicate that it’s stepping up the pace of rate hikes, stating that economic growth should continue regardless. While the course of the increases will remain gradual, the perceived aggressive pace demonstrates how the FOMC is looking to tighten policy amid falling unemployment levels (which fell to their lowest of 3.8% in May) and national growth.

The following chart illustrates the historical date of the price-adjusted US dollar index published by the FOMC.

For now, the economic forecast indicates that core inflation will reach the Fed's target of 2% by the year’s end with an overall economic growth of 2.8% for 2018. As such, with a fourth and final hike projected for this year, the Fed indicated that it will expect more rate hikes in 2019. Despite the recent hikes, as part of their long term forecast, the committee indicated that they still see the rate increasing to 2.9% and peaking at 3.4% by 2020, with an estimated GDP increase of 2.4% in 2019 and 2% in 2020. In addition to upwards estimates for GDP and inflation, the committee also estimated a cut to their original unemployment projection, from 3.8% to 3.6% for the full year. Despite the current political turmoil in the US, the economy continues to look positive.

Author Bio: Robert Blake is a freelance financial adviser and consultant. Since gradating from university he has started writing finance articles online to help give readers a clearer understanding of the US and global economy. In his spare time he can be found visiting financial seminars.

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Stellar Run

Netflix has been on a tear over the last 12 months as investors continue to focus on the rampant rise of subscriber growth especially in the international market. From the image below you can see that domestic growth has been steadily rising in the US, however the real star has been international growth as Netflix has been introducing its content into several new countries.

Even more surprising has been the record surge in the stock from the start of this year now having risen 30% year to date.

Netflix stock jumped higher today in the futures market after the stock closed for trading as the market digested the earnings report. I have added the latest jump taken from CNBC.com where the stock has moved a further 8% after a strong day leading up to the earnings release. It seems the company cant do no wrong.

What Investors Are Ignoring

One of the key reasons why Netflix subscriber growth has been so spectacular has been due to the fact that Netflix pricing for its streaming services is extremely low. This is even more evident when you compare it to traditional cable / pay TV companies.

By keeping the pricing low its placed a huge strain on its cash flows, as the company has been spending record amounts of its cash as its business model clearly inst sustainable even though company is growing so quickly. With the chart below you can see its latest cash burn was staggering at $523 million for the most recent quarter.

Whats even more worrying is the company is forecasting to burn through a total of $4 Billion in 2018.

Original Content Is Its Achilles Heel

The other key reason for the massive cash burn for Netflix is its huge budgets spent on generating its own original content. Not only has it been rising every year for the last five years, but its expected to hit $7.5 + Billion based on forecasts. (See Below)

The company's historical content spending is as follows:

2018: $7.5-$8 billion (forecast)
2017: $6 billion
2016: $5 billion
2015: $4 billion
2014: $3 billion
2013: $2 billion

Netflix content also outpaces its competitors own content budgets by a significant amount with a spend of approximately double its closest competitors content budget.

The end result of Netflix business model is the company is knowingly placing huge strains on its balance sheet with the loss of billions in cash each year and rising debt which is sitting around $20 Billion to fund its yearly cash burn.

For the moment none of this matters as stock investors cheer the company on by bidding it higher and higher rewarding the company for such reckless spending that it clearly cannot sustain.

Why Low Rates Are Important?

Netflix like many companies listed in the US are more reliant than ever on low interest rates to fund their business model. If US Government 10 year bond yields continue to move higher it will spell disaster for Netflix and other companies who continue to accelerate their debt levels to fund their losses.

If yields move beyond 3% it will mean significantly higher interest payments and accelerate already high cash burn levels which could ultimately lead to bankruptcy under their large debt levels. However until that day its celebrations all round for investors as the fundamentals don't matter at all.

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Crude Oil Under Pressure From Rising US Production

Crude Oil is about to break its 13 month uptrend as rising US crude production is starting to break down the price of Crude Oil. This is despite OPEC announcing a supply cut some months ago to help stabilize the price of Crude Oil. 

If you take a look at the chart below of US  Crude production and Oil Rig count within the US, they both seemed to level out around September / October 2016 just as the last leg of the downtrend  of Crude Oil was playing out. Since making the lows late last year the rig count has been steadily rising with production levels rising along side the rig count albeit on a 1 - 2 month lag.

Record US Crude Production Leads To Record Glut

Since US crude oil production has been soaring for several months now, inventories have also been rising along with rising production. Compounding the issue is the US economy which has been slowing for close to two years now. Now the decline in the US economy is accelerating consumption demand for gasoline within the US is also falling. Hence you will notice on the chart below on the right the sudden spike higher in inventories. 

Crude Oil Monthly Chart Review

Since making multi year lows back in February 2016 touching USD $26.14 a barrel, Crude Oil had been steadily climbing for around 13 months. After closing above its downtrend line back in April 2016, Crude continued to march higher for the remainder of 2016 and into early 2017. With just 1 trading week left in the month of March, unless there is a major reversal this week Crude Oil is set to close below its 13 month uptrend with a large red candle.

Crude Oil Heading Towards $41.50 Target

Based on the current outlook of the Monthly chart with a clear break of the uptrend currently occurring for Crude Oil, the next level of support on a monthly chart is around the $41.50 - 60 level which is another $6.50 - $6.60 or 13.75% lower from the current price.

Looking at the momentum indicators below, they are both supporting the current weakness in the price, as Momentum even though is still positive is heading back towards zero. The stochastic momentum indicator is also showing that based on the current price of $48 would form a bearish cross. (See circled area within Stochastic indicator) Monthly stochastic indicators are usually more reliable indicator of change of trends as they are much longer time frame and take a long time to form.

Hedge Funds Change Direction As Crude Oil Prices Shifts

Up until as recently as February 2016 Hedge Funds had placed a record amount of long contracts (betting on higher prices) for Crude Oil. Since then Hedge funds have begun to reverse their bullish bets setting a new record for reducing the bets for higher prices. The swift change in sentiment among Hedge Funds and Traders was due to the price falling below the physiological $50 level.

Crude Oil - Weekly Chart Review

Taking a closer look at Crude Oil via the weekly chart you can see that the price tried to break higher numerous times back in January and February this year. However after reaching the the $53.80 - $53.95 level on several occasions the price collapsed a few weeks with a long red candle which I have circled on the chart.

Momentum Falls Below Zero

Momentum is currently sitting at -5.74 on the weekly chart having closed below zero in the first week of March as the bulls became exhausted and finally gave in to lower prices.

The weekly Stochastic momentum indicator has been falling for several weeks now confirming the weakness in price. Since both indicators are supporting the falls in price on the weekly and monthly chart, it suggests that there is a high probability that the weakness in Crude Oil will continue over the medium to long term.

Since Crude Oil has confirmed a close below the weekly uptrend 3 weeks ago, the next level of support on the weekly chart is $40.50 a barrel.

Watch For A Surprise Reversal Above $54

Although very unlikely to occur over the coming weeks, I suggest watching out for a potential reversal in price back to the current resistance level of just below $54 a barrel. There may be another attempt to break above $54 but will unlikely succeed with current oversupply issues facing the market with rising US production.  The reason why I suggest looking at for the reversal is if OPEC announces further cuts to their supply to attempt to stop the falls in price.

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Rising Rates About To Crack The US Economy Under Record Debt Levels

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Russell 2000 Bullish Run Looks Tired As Momentum Falls

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US Interest rates have been steadily rising since the lows in July last year, as the market reacts to both inflation pressures, FED commentary and 2 rate rises in 15 months. As a consequence interest rates have risen around 1.2% for US 10 year Government bonds since July 2016. Rising rates has created a major headwind for the US economy, as the weight of the massive debt levels for consumers and companies are starting to have a weakening effect on demand dragging the US economy towards slower growth. In spite of slowing growth economy the US stock markets are or near all time record highs as bullishness over the Trump presidency have overridden a weakening macro environment as stock investors look to the future with optimism.

Market Pricing 100% For FED Rate Rise For March

Over the last few weeks the probability of FED rate rise in March has been climbing, as a series of press releases and comments from various FED officials, including FED chairperson Janet Yellen have shown their eagerness to raise rates this month. Due to FED officials comments the market has priced in a 100% probability of rate rise when the FED holds their Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and release their statement on the 15th March US time. 

US  Government 10 year Bond Yields Set To Break Out Towards 3.00%

With the recent talk regarding interest rate rises by the FED this week and the market now pricing a 100% certainty of FED funds rate rising by 0.25%, Government bond yields have once again started to climb higher for two straight weeks reaching previous resistance of 2.62% last Friday. (See chart below)

The important factor to note for the 10 year bond yields is if the 2.62% level is broken and closes above the resistance level indicated for the week, we will see interest rates move progressively higher towards 3.00% which is the next level of resistance.

Higher Rates To Hit Corporate & Consumer Credit Debt At Record Highs

If US Government bond yields move towards 3.00% over the coming months, a situation which is likely if the FED raises rates this week. This is going to have a major effect on slowing the US economy even further. The extremely high debt levels in the US, that were built up during a low interest rate environment created by the FED is now beginning to cause some serious problems for the economy and eventually stocks as well with small increases in rates having a larger impact on considerably higher debt levels.

The reason rising US Government 10 year bond yields is such an important factor in determining the health of the US economy, is because the majority of debt products for consumers and companies are priced from Government 10 year bond yields. In other words everyone will experience a rate rise and be negatively effected because the US is drowning in debt, with consumer credit and companies debt levels excluding financials are at record highs. (See charts below)

Crush The Market addressed the negative effects that a significant rise in rates would do towards the US economy back in November as rates began to spike higher in November with the election of Donald Trump. To view this article click the link below:

Surging Bond Yields Signalling Pain Not Growth Ahead For US Economy

Since November's article the rise in yields has played out as predicted with a slowing in a number of key macro economic data announcements, as the economy continues to slow in a rising interest rate environment causing pain for consumers, companies and the economy overall.

Consumer Credit  Debt Led By Student & Auto Loans

The picture is no different for the average consumer who is struggling under record levels of debt, with debt levels rising by approximately 1 trillion since the previous peak reached before the global financial crisis in 2008 & 2009.

The majority of the gains in debt levels have come across from an exponential increase in student debt as tuition fees for college are far outpacing CPI increases. The other main contributor for such a significant rise in consumer credit has been the boom in auto loans to the average consumer. Auto sales had previously been booming from increasing in credit for a number of years. Now as consumers are tapped out with much more debt since 2009, delinquencies are rising in the auto loans market as higher interest rates are biting hard on consumers disposable income.

The rapid increase in debt since 2009 together with increasing rates since July last year, has already been felt within the economy as various parts of the economy are now showing further continued weakness.

Higher Rates Slowing Lending Growth For Consumers

The rise of around 1.2% in US Government 10 year bond yields since July has already started to impact demand for more debt by consumers over the last year. Since the start of 2016 loan creation growth has slowed dramatically from between 9 - 10% per year to a current growth level of between 4% - 4.6% pa. Although the growth rate are in the positive the accelerating of debt growth levels is impacting retail sales within the economy. For example auto sales from the Big 4 auto manufactures have fallen by up to 11% in January 2017 from a year ago. To view auto sales data shown in my recent US economy article Click here.

Atlanta FED Slashes Q1 GDP Forecast to 1.2%

In the beginning of February this year the Atlanta FED forecasting team had set Q1 GDP as high 3.4%. Since February economic data has been released showing further deterioration and slowing in the economy with economic data missing expectations. As a result of this the Atlanta FED has had to  continually reduce their forecasts all the way to 1.2% as of March 8th. Depending on pending new economic data releases in the coming weeks we could see Q1 forecast fall below 1%.

US Gasoline Sales Begin To Fall Again

US Gasoline sales have been in structural decline for several years now, as the chart has shown below falling by over 50% since 2005.  After reaching the lows in 2014 gasoline sales began to start rising again as the economy began to gather pace as jobs and debt accumulation began to accelerate. However recent data has shown Gasoline retail sales have once again resumed their downward trend and starting falling as weakness in the economy  from higher rates is started to effect consumer demand.

Federal Government Receipts Now Negative Y/Y - First Time Since Last Recession

Similar to Gasoline sales US Federal Government receipts were growing strongly up to 2014 reaching a growth rate close to 14% y/y. Since 2014 recent high Federal Government receipts have been falling dramatically over the last 2 years, having just recently turned negative falling -1.1% Y/Y for the first time since the last recession in 2008 /9. (See chart below)

Having a closer look at the chart on the right hand side, you will notice that the majority of the decline in growth rates occurred over a relatively short time frame in 2016. This coincides with the similar time frames when interest rates stopped falling and began to rise rapidly in the second half of 2016.

US Restaurant Operators Same Store Sales Falling

The most recent data available for restaurant same store sales has been released, showing that December 2016 same store restaurant sales are the weakest they have been for in 3 years. In addition Q4 comparable sales and traffic is also down from a year ago, indicating that the restaurant industry is reeling as consumers cut back spending out for food.

 Does A Rising Interest Rate Environment Matter To Stocks?

According to history a rising rate environment has serious implications to the future performance of the market. Since the 1970's 7 out of 8 occurrences where interest rates cycles began to tighten resulted in some large corrections in the stock market. With the last tightening cycle resulting in a 56% fall in the markets in 2009.

The tightening cycle has been running for close to 9 months now as has already had a major impact to the grow rates of the economy slowing dramatically over the same period. With the potential for another rate rise occurring this week, its quite possible we could see 3% US 10 year Government bond yields in the coming months playing further havoc on the economy. Based on the last 45 years of data a tightening cycle in the US has not be very kind to stocks either as the economy reacts to higher rates.

Warning! - The Insiders Are Rushing For The Exits

Company executives are selling around 10 to 1 relative to buying trades of company stocks despite record prices for stocks. The buyer / seller ratio is also on a downtrend since peaking in late 2015  and the beginning of 2016 (See chart below)

When executives are selling in such large amounts it usually means they are seeing the writing on the wall for future earnings and prospects for the companies they run. Perhaps since interest rates are rising and the economy is slowing its starting to place pressure on future earnings targets. The next quarter earnings may provide further insights, especially since companies are conducting record amounts of buybacks that are financed from previously low rates of  debt.

The recent strong performance of stocks in late 2016 and early 2017 has masked a serious deterioration in the US economy that started as early as 2014 - 2015. With interest rates about to break out higher on the way towards 3% we could see the last legs of the economy knocked out bringing stocks down with them as earnings will start to fall again with weaker consumer demand filtering through to lower sales results.

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Stocks Bullishness At Record Highs While The US Economy Is Approaching Recession

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Russell 2000 Bullish Run Looks Tired As Momentum Falls

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US Stocks Bullish Run Fueled By Optimism Over Real Data

Since the election results in November US soft data (survey / optimism data) has deviated from hard data (actual US economic data). More importantly since December hard data has been falling as the economic news has deteriorated. Whilst soft data has continued to shoot higher along with a very bullish stock market. 

The Russell 2000 Index (Small Cap's) review shown below will show a very strong bullish uptrend. This pattern is quite similar to the 3 main stock indices DOW, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. This highlights that the recent market surge in US stocks is more a function of market euphoria and optimism rather than actual improving economic activity and growth within the US economy.

Russell 2000 - RUT (Small Cap's) Chart Review

Monthly Chart

The Russell 2000 (RUT) has been in an uptrend for several years now as seen in the chart below. After a 3 year consolidation pattern of mostly sideways action between December 2013 - October 2016. The RUT index broke out of resistance of 1252 in November last year after the US election result win of Donald Trump, as all indices moved higher.

Currently the RUT has established a new uptrend within its larger long term uptrend shown with the blue line on the chart below. This uptrend started after the index gave a false signal when it closed below support of 1100 back in January 2016. After hitting the lows one month later the index has been steadily climbing.

Momentum Stalling - Consolidation Or Pullback Ahead

Since the RUT has had a strong 13 month rally in prices, the momentum indicators shown in the monthly chart are indicating exhaustion of the current rally.

I have circled both the momentum and Stochastic indicator to show that both are indicating a reversal of the strength in the market. Momentum indicator is still high however has pulled back to 2.80. The stochastic currently is sitting at a bearish cross as the blue line has crossed below the red. The last time the Stochastic had a bearish cross in July 2015 (circled on chart price action) the RUT index experienced a correction in prices for the next few months.

Since its only early March, it would be appropriate to wait for confirmation at the end of the month. If the momentum indicator is confirmed we could see the price action retrace back to the current uptrend shown in the chart at around 1315 - 1320 price range.

Since the bullish rally is quite strong its unlikely we will see a retracement back to support of 1252 - 53 level. Keep this target in mind though if we experience volatility in prices in March. Especially since the FED is likely to raise interest rates by 0.25% this month.

Weekly Chart

The weekly chart is showing a similar pattern to the monthly chart with the strong rally in prices since late November. Currently the price action is at or near the upper band of the uptrend channel shown in the chart below.

RUT experienced a strong burst in price around 5 -6 weeks ago as it made a new record high above 1400. Since then the price has been consolidating as it has struggled twice to climb back above the 1400 resistance level, with 2 weekly rejection patterns shown on chart as the price failed to stay above 1400.

Weekly momentum indicator is showing more weakness compared to the monthly momentum as it has made lower lows as it now sitting at 0.06 after reaching a high of 1.88 a number of weeks ago. This indicates the strength in the market that was present as the price made new record highs has disappeared. This explains the hesitation of the index to move higher.

The weekly stochastic indicator is also indicating exhaustion of the current rally and a consolidation or minor retracement in price is likely in the coming weeks.

The weekly chart pattern is confirming the monthly price action as the recent bullish run is running out of steam at least in the short term for now. Most likely the price action will move towards the lower uptrend channel band around 1300 - 1305 level. Based on the current bullish optimism its unlikely the price action will move towards support of 1282 - 84 level.

For confirmation of the retracement in price on the weekly chart, look for a weekly close below the 10 week moving average line which is currently at 1377 level.

Daily Chart

The daily chart price action as of last Friday's close on the 3rd of March is sitting just above its support level at 1,394. After breaking out approximately 2 weeks above the 1388 level the price action has been moving sideways and above its previous resistance level which is a bullish indication.

Contradicting the price action above the 1,388 level is that both Momentum indicators are showing a loss of strength in the market. Momentum has recently moved negative to -0.02 and the stochastic has also had a bearish cross a number of trading days ago. This means in the short term its likely we will see the RUT index close back below the 1,388 level.

If the index does close below 1,388 level, pay attention that the index stays within the previous sideways range between 1345 - 1,388. If the RUT index falls below 1,345 support level over the next 1 - 3 weeks the next target of support is 1,313.

Wildcard Event

Based on the strong bullish run of the RUT index and the major US stock indices, its unlikely we will see a retracement / fall in prices greater than 10% over the short to medium term time frame. However the FED will be meeting on the 14th & 15th of March to decide whether interest rates are rising in March. The decision will be made on the 15th. Based on prior announcements of a rate rise the market may experience with 1 - 3 days of the announcement a lot more volatility. If this was to occur we could see a mini panic of selling as the market digests the news. Therefore the wildcard this month is the FED announcement in the middle of the month that you should be weary of.

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Stocks Bullishness At Record Highs While The US Economy Is Approaching Recession

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Disclaimer: This post is for educational purposes only, and all the information contained within this post is not to be considered as advice or a recommendation of any kind. If you require advice or assistance please seek a licensed professional who can provide these services.

US stocks are at or near all time record highs across all major indices, with the markets bursting out after the election win of Donald Trump back in November 2016. Since then investor bullishness has also spiked to 10 year high levels. While this bullish euphoria is occurring something else is taking place far more important. The US economy has been trending down for some time now and the slowdown momentum is gathering pace as it moves closer to a recession possibly as soon as this year.

Market Euphoria Clouds Judgement

The markets have a history of becoming totally blind to whats actually occurring in the real economy, instead focusing on the direction of the market to give them an indication of whats taking place. In the chart below you can also see that the composite bullish index (red line) back in mid 2007 was very high around 130 just before the markets began their 50% decline.

Currently the market greed / fear index (see chart below) is close to at the maximum level of extreme greed side, while the actual economy is rapidly declining with a similar dynamic playing out presently with a potential twist to the market outcome.

How Can The Market Be At Record Highs While The Economy Is Heading Towards Recession?

In a nutshell the answer is Central Banks, if you take a look at the chart below you can see how the Central Banks have massively increased their balance sheet since 2008 / 2009. This has been achieved by printing money and buying up assets to provide additional liquidity into the system. This extra liquidity has flowed its way into stocks all over the world, regardless of which Central Bank has been been providing the additional liquidity.

Recently though most Central Banks have once again picked up the pace in growing their balance sheet . So even though the US has effectively kept their balance sheet flat to slightly down over the last 2 years, the other Central Banks have effectively been adding to the pool of global liquidity pushing up prices of stocks, real estate and other assets. Clearly this practice is totally artificial and is giving false bullish signals to investors as the markets are not functioning on their own.

The S&P 500 Index No Longer Tracks Earnings

Further evidence that the Central Banks actions are providing false signals to the markets is shown in the chart below. S&P 500 earnings per share (EPS) are totally out of sync with the rise of the market and now represent a large divergence in their trends.


Earnings are now slowly tracking higher after falling for several years, however this is more a case of financial engineering of companies artificially raising their EPS by buying back their stock usually with debt. Since 2012 corporate profits are down so even companies themselves are misleading investors to the true financial health of their investments.

How Lower Corporate Profits Tie In With The Economy - Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

Since 2016 global employment in S&P 500 companies has been slowing down (see chart below) and late 2016 turned negative as the slowdown accelerated with employment growth. The last time this occurred the US economy went into a recession shortly after.

If you look at US non-farm payrolls you will notice that its also trending down but a slower pace.

The interesting point about the non-farm payrolls data is that the data each month is provided based on the combination of a Government surveys (small sample) as well Government generated predictions of jobs, Ie Birth death model of estimated new businesses commenced to produce the monthly result. Several months later up to a 1 year later the actual data collected from companies are imputed and adjustments are made on prior months. Usually the number of jobs actually created is readjusted lower. So the true effect of a slowdown with companies in the S&P 500 will not show in the non-farm payroll data for several months.

Every Time The FED's Own Signal Falls Below Zero Y/Y A Recession Occurs

Scroll video to 12min 52sec.

This video indicates that an indicator that the FED actually monitors has fallen -0.3 in December and has fallen 5.8% y/y, which is the largest since 2010. Each of the last 8 occurrences of this indicator falling below zero y/y has resulted in a recession in the US.

Consumer Credit Grow Demand Drops 43% Month on Month

In December consumer credit grew by $14.2 billion  a 43% drop compared to November's $25.2 billion. Since consumer spending makes up over 70% of the GDP data and the savings rates is falling in the US, a large drop in the amount of new credit card debt also points to a slowdown in retail sales.

The credit data below is actual data collected from the banks rather than from surveys, so it shows a very accurate picture of demand for credit card debt. Given the big collapse in S&P500 employments levels the trend in credit demand will likely continue to move lower and lower the GDP result.

FED Senior Loan Officer Survey Demand Falls Over

The overall trend for credit demand going forward is not looking good with the latest results from the FED senior loan officer survey. Indications for demand for debt for Construction, credit cards and auto loans are all down at multi year lows.

This is important as credit demand overall has been tied to overall demand within the economy and especially with consumers. If the intentions from the survey follow through, the slowdown in the economy will begin to gather pace with the higher probability of the US starting a recession in 2017.

Auto sales have performed very strongly since hitting the lows in 2009, with demand for auto loans driving a large proportion of retail sales demand. Auto sales have recovered strongly also because interest rates for auto loans have fallen substantially over the last 7 years from the FED dropping interest rates and pushing down bond yields via QE purchases. This has allowed buying a new car more accessible for consumers and allowed consumers to own more expensive models that previously they have not been able to afford on higher interest rates.

Auto sales Decline Y/Y First Time Since 2009

The strong performance of auto sales bubble appears to be over as December and January figures have been very weak. Making things worse y/y auto sales have recorded its first decline since 2009 the same year the US experienced a recession.

The data below shows the big 4 car companies in terms of autos units sold all experienced declines in y/y figures. Since the FED senior officer survey results for demand for auto credit is also falling, US car sales declines will  most likely continue in 2017.

With Record Amounts Of Stimulus Why Is The US Economy Weak?

Each month the Government releases the wages growth figures and overall they are usually positive rising slowly over time. The data that the financial media show is the data in the chart below (red line) which is nominal growth in wages. Since 2000 nominal growth has risen 40.2%, however when you take into account inflation real wages have declined 1.1% over the same period.

When the Government calculates inflation, the data they release is usually under reporting the true state of inflation due to various statistical measures like hedonics applied to the data to bring the level of actual inflation down. Therefore the average workers real wages have probably fallen by more than 1.1% since 2000.

Since the average worker has to spend more of their wages to buy the same amount of goods and services, this impacts on their spending power and ability to borrow. Lower spending and borrowing capability translates to weaker GDP growth since consumer spending makes such a large proportion of the calculation.

Weaker Economy = Higher Bankruptcies

The 2009 US recession caused bankruptcies to rise for several years and after peaking in 2011 the overall trend in bankruptcies continued to decline for the next 5 years as the economy recovered from record stimulus implemented by the FED and the Federal Government.

The declining trend has shifted when bankruptcies began to surge in November 2015 and continued to move higher in 2016. This has resulted in bankruptcies recording their first y/y rise since 2010 after rising 26% from the prior year.

Given bankruptcies is a lagging indicator due to the time required to process and complete bankruptcies, the deterioration of the economy has been occurring for an extended period of time now. Since other economic data  is showing further weakness, bankruptcies will continue to rise further in 2017 and into 2018.

Stimulus High No Longer Effective

Despite continuous stimulus of some form or another from Central banks and the US Federal Government growing their debt levels at record pace, the 2016 GDP growth came in at only 1.6% matching the 2011 low read after hitting 2.6% growth in 2015.

Based on the actual data from the US Government, the economy is slowing and no longer receiving a boost from the various stimulus options in place currently to support the economy, consumers and businesses.

Whilst the economy was slowing in 2016 another setback for the economy occurred in November last year, when the US 10 year Government bond yields soared over 0.60% within short period after the US election results.

Given the majority of consumer and business debt products interest rates in the US are priced from the 10 year Government bond yield rate, consumers and businesses effectively experienced two 0.30 rate rises over a 2 month period in late 2016. To view the article written back in November outlining the impact of higher Government bond yields on the US economy click the link below:

Surging Bond Yields Signalling Pain Not Growth Ahead For US Economy

A Rising Stock Market During A Recession Is A Possibility

After viewing this article you might come to the conclusion that despite the stock market sitting at record highs in the US, stocks are set to fall if an imminent recession is arriving in 2017. Well not exactly, since we are not in normal times and the actions of Central banks and the US Government are unprecedented.

When you take into consideration several of the previous FED QE programs occurred after US stocks began to correct by around 10%. In addition the odd market behavior in stocks over the last 6 - 12 months where we have not experienced a fall of greater than 5%. Its a reasonable possibility that stocks may stay elevated or even rise higher even if the US has an official recession. If this occurs this will be another new record in US history.

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Disclaimer: This post was for educational purposes only, and all the information contained within this post is not to be considered as advice or a recommendation of any kind. If you require advice or assistance please seek a licensed professional who can provide these services.

The Election Honeymoon Is Over

It appears the honeymoon has ended for Trump and the markets after sparking a major rally in both the US dollar and the stock market since the election result.

The US dollar after topping at the end of 2016 has now started in a new down trend after falling steadily in January. It's now at the same level reached just after the election results in Mid November. (See chart above)

Over the last 2 trading days the US stock market has fallen the most in 4 months, as a series of actions taken by president Trump over its immigration policy in the last few days has shocked the market and brought about uncertainty and fear. Ironically the actions taken by Trump was already raised in his election campaign promises.

Adding to further uncertainty and fear in the market Trump decided to fire the acting attorney general for not following on his executive order over his immigration ban on seven countries. (For further information you can click the headline below)

DOW Reverses Breakout Trade

The Dow Jones Industrial index made a breakout out of its tight trading channel last week after moving sideways for nearly a month. However the last 2 trading days losses has seen the index fall back within the channel as the 20,000 level support failed to hold.

For traders and investors interested in the Dow index, watch the index to see if the previous support line shown in the chart will hold. A close below support could easily see the Dow fall back to pre-election results levels around 18,600.

Nasdaq Still Bullish Despite Uncertainty

The Nasdaq composite has been on a steady uptrend with little hesitation / pullback in price since the election rally begun. As a consequence of the strong uptrend rally late in the year the Nasdaq has made multiple record highs in January 2017.

Even though the index has fallen the last 2 days the index continues to remain well within the uptrend as well its current support. Compared to the Dow index the Nasdaq is showing strong bullish technicals despite the minor pullback in price from Trump's recent actions.

Note:

Despite the relative strong performance of the Nasdaq Composite, a potential close below its current uptrend line could see the Nasdaq fall back to the 5,500 level in price. With the current uncertainty and fear that is currently gripping the markets its quite possible for a reversal to occur.

S&P 500 - Hanging On To Breakout

The S&P 500 has experienced a minor pullback so far this week and depending on how you look at it, is just above or just below its breakout level that it crossed over in last week's breakout trade.

With the last 2 trading days showing some buying support despite falling both trading days, indicates the S&P 500 is likely to respect new support level around 2,275 - 2,278 in the short term. On the flip side with recent above average volume on both down days for the index does not bode well for market sentiment as fear remains within the market.

Weak Economic Data Adding To Market Weakness

Last Friday the US released its first look at last quarter's GDP as well durable goods orders for last month. Both pieces of key economic data missed market expectations, with GDP coming in at 1.9% versus 2.1% expectation. Durable goods missed heavily coming in at -0.4% vs 2.7% expected. 

Interestingly after the release of the key data the market barely responded initially. However after the unexpected immigration ban placed over the weekend by Trump's executive order and the firing of the acting Attorney General yesterday the market decided to react the recent deluge of negative news and shocks with the 2 day declines.

Market Bullish Exuberance Not Broadly Supported

Another key risk for the markets on top of the recent market uncertainties from Trump's actions, is the lack of bullishness among the majority of the stocks within the S&P 500. If you look at the chart below, the percentage of stocks above their 200 day moving average has diverged from the index back in September last year.  This indicates the larger stocks within the S&P 500 are driving the recent strong performance as the remaining stocks under perform. A divergence this large will most likely result in a reversal in trend to coincide with the overall strength of the index.

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China Braces For More Pain Ahead As Economy Slowdown Accelerates

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Gold begins the year strong will the bullish run continue for 2017?

Disclaimer: This post was for educational purposes only, and all the information contained within this post is not to be considered as advice or a recommendation of any kind. If you require advice or assistance please seek a licensed professional who can provide these services.