Market Overview

MF Global failed on a trade that would have made it enormously profitable. AIG’s portfolios of “toxic waste” ended up making money for the Federal Reserve. Bear Stearns and Lehman...

This morning the National Association of Realtors released the April data for their Pending Home Sales Index. Here is an excerpt from the latest press release: Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says...

The Chicago Business Barometer, also known as the Chicago Purchasing Manager's Index, is similar to the national ISM Manufacturing indicator but at a regional level and is seen by many as an indicator...

Note: This commentary has been updated to include yesterday's release of the April data for Real Personal Income Less Transfer Receipts.Official recession calls are the responsibility of the NBER...

Note: The NYSE has released new data for margin debt, now available through April.The New York Stock Exchange publishes end-of-month data for margin debt on the NYX data website, where we can also...

UK Manufacturing PMI for May on track to hold on to recent gains Economists see a modest rise for the US ADP Employment Report in May Another month of softer growth is projected for the US ISM...

I cannot stress strongly enough the importance of understanding where the markets are currently technically located, with regards to different time frames and which help to guide all my trading and...

US President Trump reserves his most scornful indignation for the traditional media and US allies, while seemingly praising authoritarian leaders abroad. Given the Administration's domestic...

The U.S. and other nations with “free market” economies got credit for defeating the communists in Russia. That is ironic, because it is now more clear than ever that western leadership...

This Great Graphic, from Bloomberg, shows the correlation between the price of iron ore and the Australian dollar on a rolling 60-day basis over the past year. The correlation is a little more than...

Bloomberg reports that a rate hike at the Federal Reserve’s June 13-14 policy meeting is a “virtual certainty”, based on Fed funds futures. That’s a clue for thinking that the...

For some, the idea of turning the page and closing what has been a fairly bleak month to be long or tracking the Aussie equity market will be welcomed. That being said, being long certain industrial...

Pharmaceuticals are a hugely important industry for the EU and the UK. The sector creates thousands of jobs, billions of euros in exports, and is Europe’s most research-intense industry. But...

Projections showing that the UK Tories could lose their outright majority in Parliament in next week's election spurred sterling sales, which snapped a two-day advance. Polls at the end of last week...