Technology to Energy RatioEverything is cyclical. Every asset has its own cycle eventually in its own time. From Crypto to Real estate and Technology.
I crossed compared the Energy sector to the Technology Sector. XLE/QQQ
Then overlaid the Technology Sector to the Energy Sector QQQ/XLE
As you can see there is many clues where one will always outperform the other.
You just have to hold these assets where one is gaining vs the other.
One asset will suck the liquidity of the other and visa versa until one completes the cycle then it repeats
Hard assets are primed for outperformance.
Happy Investing
Community ideas
Long Term Investment Thesis for LYVLooking for long term investments is always a challenge. Thing is you need to know what you are looking for. It makes a difference to find a company that is oversold and is sitting on the 200 moving average. I have an idea that we have a gap to close between the yellow lines. I think but, time will tell, that this stock possibly could break through to those yellow lines in order to fill the gap and fill the orders that are out there within that gap.
This stock is a company that has high director ownership at 32% which tells me they believe in their company. As I dive deeper, this company is constantly increasing their employees yearly to where they are now at 28,000 employees.
As far as the Market Value 18.40B and Enterprise Value 19.68B this company has two numbers that are close. However, they do have more debt than cash but it is close.
This stock is in the niche that has plenty of growth room and they are kicking it within the entertainment business and selling tickets online.
This is a company that is in the entertainment niche. They have cornered a market and many in the USA have used this company if they have attended college sports and events or any other venues that need and use a web based ticket collection agency. This company owns and operates TicketMaster which has taken the whole process of paper tickets to be replaced, bought, sold, exchanged via web based. This stock has been trading in the same range over the past 5 years for the most part. It has been going higher over time but, the markets have been off due to the corrections with in the market. This particular stock is set to go higher over time with many analysts putting $107 and higher price tags.
The insider ownership of the directors is nearly 32% ownership and their Market Cap is 18.40B whereas the Enterprise Value is 19.68 B, which are very closely aligned. The earnings per shares is $1.07. They have continuously been hiring new employees due to their growth over the years.
This stock is:
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. operates as a live entertainment company. NYSE:LYV
It operates through Concerts, Ticketing, and Sponsorship & Advertising segments. The Concerts segment promotes live music events in its owned or operated venues, and in rented third-party venues; operates and manages music venues; produces music festivals; creates and streams associated content; and offers management and other services to artists.
The Ticketing segment manages the ticketing operations, including the provision of ticketing software and services to clients for tickets and event information through its primary websites livenation.com and ticketmaster.com, as well as through other websites, mobile apps, retail outlets, and call centers; and provides ticket resale services.
This segment sells tickets for its events and third-party clients in various live event categories; offers ticketing services for arenas, stadiums, amphitheaters, music clubs, concert promoters, professional sports franchises and leagues, college sports teams, performing arts venues, museums, and theaters.
The Sponsorship & Advertising segment sells international, national, and local sponsorships and placement of advertising, including signage and promotional programs; rich media offering that comprise advertising related with live streaming and music-related content; and ads across its distribution network of venues, events, and websites.
This segment also manages the development of strategic sponsorship programs, as well as develops, books, and produces custom events or programs for specific brands.
It owns, operates, or leases entertainment venues in North America and internationally. The company was formerly known as Live Nation, Inc. and changed its name to Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. in January 2010.
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California.
I personally buy stocks when I see setups in charting that I like which is just my style of investing. I have attached a detailed daily chart with RSI (37.44) that is showing this stock is oversold meaning that it is unloved at the moment but, most of the market is too but, it is not as cooled off as I would like to see it. I’m personally looking for it to go closer to RSI of about 30. It is also beginning to reach a critical point of touching the 200 moving average line in which I will watch to see if it continues to hold there or proceeds to break through to the downside. If it continues to hold and stay within that price range for the next week. That indicates to me that a buying trend is beginning to form. The Volume and MACD is also showing a huge sell off so, I want to see that level off some as well. I do not plan to buy into this stock until I see the MACD cross upward and at minimum 5 days of similar stock price range with stronger buying volume than the current selling off volume. I personally am also looking at a gap that I know has orders still waiting to be filled where buyer and/or sellers are waiting to get this stock at $73.73 to $67.60 price range. Generally, not always, gaps have to be filled at some point in time. I’m looking for the stock to drop into this range before I enter it. I might be late and disappointed if the markets take off and this one continues higher but, that is where I’m looking to enter. I just wanted to share this company with the group because I see much here and personally have used this company to buy all my sporting event and concert event tickets over the past 5+ years.
I know we can’t pin point “the bottom” but, I like to buy all the bottoms now that I understand how to read charts in order to have a better dollar cost average for long term stock investing. The reason I dollar cost average the bottoms, is because my personal psychology drives me crazy to see huge losses in my portfolio. Happy stock hunting and investing, y’all!
Bitcoin: Poised To Break 30K?Bitcoin short squeeze continues to the 30K resistance. In terms of momentum this move is significant and should shape smaller time frame strategies, BUT the bigger picture is another story. New resistance is the 31K AREA, new support is 27.5 to 28.5 AREA.
Based on the new developments in price structure, I suspect a potential test of 31K BUT I believe a break is low probability. A test of the 28.5 to 27.5 support area is more likely in my opinion over the coming week.
The bullish move (sparked by fake news apparently) appears to be a short squeeze. These type of moves are NOT sustainable over the long run and is nothing more than traders getting shaken out of short positions.
Gold has also expressed a similar move almost touching 2K. We can sit here and entertain ourselves as to "why" this may be and why it should continue. We can also watch Youtube videos featuring rocket ships on their title thumbnails (how original!). The REALITY is interest rates are at their highs (see US10Y). As long as money is getting more expensive to borrow, the probability of Bitcoin going beyond 31K is LOW.
Sure this may also be money looking for safety, but it is most likely temporary. Sustainable rallies and asset bubbles are driven by cheap money, NOT temporary catalysts based on fear.
IF Bitcoin cannot clear 31K decisively over the next week, then I will be looking for the test of the newly established support 28.5 to 27.5K (see drawing on chart). I would consider shorting this to be aggressive since it is against price structure. Waiting for bullish setups around 28K would be conservative. Either way, day trades or swing trades are most appropriate at these levels, these are not attractive levels for investing.
Thank you for considering my analysis and perspective.
VIX Clears 20-21, On Capitulation WatchAfter the VIX sagged to under 13 at times in the third quarter, October has brought about the bears and higher volatility, as if on seasonal cue. The S&P 500 peaked in late July right when many mega-cap tech stocks reported second-quarter earnings results. The AI-fueled rally that gave equities legs following the SVB crisis in mid-March finally lost steam.
The S&P 500 is now a stone's throw away from "correction territory" off the 4607 rebound peak a few months ago. The psychological level to watch is 4146 (-10%). As of this writing, equity futures point to an SPX near 4200 - below its rising 200-day moving average and testing the breakout point from late May. What could surprise some bulls would be a break under 4200 followed by a snapback higher.
All eyes are on the VIX. Wall Street's "fear gauge" has jumped to 23 this morning. While not screaming panic, the Volatility Index is at its loftiest level since March. The Q3 high of 31 could be in play, but I also notice that a series of lower highs has been the trend since way back in January of 2022 (39). Thus, it's reasonable to assert that the high 20s on the VIX could be the peak this go around. Of course, bullish stock seasonality really takes hold following this week (though pre-election years tend to see somewhat weaker Novembers compared to all years).
Inflation SupercycleOn the afternoon of October 3rd, 2023 something unprecedented happened in the U.S. Treasury market. For the first time ever, bear steepening caused the 20-year U.S. Treasury yield and the 2-year U.S. Treasury yield to uninvert.
Bear steepening refers to a scenario in which long-duration bond yields rise faster than short-duration bond yields, as bond yields rise across the term structure. In all past instances, inverted yield curves have normalized due to bull steepening . The probability that bear steepening would cause an inverted yield curve to normalize is so low that, until now, most term structure models excluded the possibility of it ever happening. In this post, I'll explain why this anomalous event is a major stagflation warning.
The chart above shows that the 10-year Treasury yield has been rising much faster than the 3-month Treasury yield throughout 2023, narrowing the once-deep yield curve inversion.
Since a yield curve inversion indicates that a recession is coming, and bear steepening indicates that the market is pricing in higher inflation for the short term, and even more so, for the long term, then bear steepening during a yield curve inversion indicates that high inflation may persist even during the recessionary phase. High inflation during the recessionary period is what defines stagflation . Since very strong bear steepening is normalizing a deeply inverted yield curve, the combination of these events is a warning that severe stagflation is likely coming.
High inflation has caused Treasury yields to surge at an astronomical rate of change. Bond prices, which move in the opposite direction as yields, have sharply declined causing destabilizing losses. The effects of these massive bond losses are not even close to being fully realized by the broad economy.
The image above shows a bond ETF heatmap with year-to-date returns. Large losses have been mounting across numerous bond ETFs. Long-duration Treasury ETF NASDAQ:TLT has declined by more than 18% this year. Click here to interact with the bond ETF heatmap
Despite the extreme pace of monetary tightening, many central banks are still struggling to contain inflation. Inflationary fiscal spending and ballooning debt-to-GDP levels are confounding central bank monetary policy efforts. In Argentina, for example, inflation continues to spiral higher despite the central bank raising interest rates to 133%.
The chart above shows that the central bank of Argentina has hiked interest rates to 133%. Despite this extreme interest rate, the country's inflation rate continues to spiral higher. In an inflationary spiral, there is no upper limit to how high interest rates can go.
As the Federal Reserve tightens the supply of the U.S. dollar -- the predominant global reserve currency -- all other countries (with less demanded fiat currency) generally must tighten their monetary supply by a greater degree in order to contain inflation. If a country fails to maintain tighter monetary conditions than the Federal Reserve, then the supply of that country's (lesser demanded) fiat currency will grow against the supply of the (greater demanded, and scarcer) U.S. dollar, causing devaluation of the former against the latter. In effect, by controlling the global reserve currency, the Federal Reserve is able to export inflation to other countries. This phenomenon is explained by the Dollar Milkshake Theory .
The forex chart above shows FX:USDJPY pushing up against 150 yen to the dollar. The longer the Bank of Japan continues to maintain significantly looser monetary conditions than the Fed, the longer the yen will continue to devalue against the U.S. dollar.
The meteoric rise in bond yields is particularly concerning because it has broken the long-term downtrend, signaling the start of a new supercycle. After hitting the zero lower bound in 2020, yields have rebounded and pierced through long-term resistance levels.
The chart above shows that the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield broke above long-term resistance, ending the period of declining interest rates that characterized the monetary easing supercycle.
We've entered into a new supercycle, one in which lower interest rates over time are a thing of the past. The new supercycle will be characterized by persistently high inflation. It will start off insidiously, with brief periods of disinflation, but over the long term it will accelerate higher and higher, ultimately causing today's fiat currencies to meet the same fate that every fiat currency in history has met: hyperinflation.
* * *
Important Disclaimer
Nothing in this post should be considered financial advice. Trading and investing always involve risks and one should carefully review all such risks before making a trade or investment decision. Do not buy or sell any security based on anything in this post. Please consult with a financial advisor before making any financial decisions. This post is for educational purposes only.
Pinefest #1This Pinefest was closed October 28 2023. Congratulations to its winner, alexgrover with this script .
█ CHALLENGE
Create three functions that will return the exact value where two data series intersect: crossValue(source1, source2)
crossoverValue(source1, source2)
crossunderValue(source1, source2)
When a cross occurs, the functions must return the intersection's value. When no cross occurs, they must return na .
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You have one week to submit your entry. Submission deadline: 28 Oct 2023, 12:00 UTC
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NFLX Price Soars 12% after Strong ReportYesterday's closing price was 345.83, but this morning, NFLX's price rose above USD 390 per share in premarket trading. The reason is a strong report:
→ earnings per share = USD 3.73, expected = USD 3.49;
→ revenue = USD 8.54 billion, a year ago = USD 7.9 billion.
→ the main surprise is that the number of subscribers grew by an impressive 8.76 million in the third quarter (about 6 million were expected). The number of subscribers worldwide is approaching 250 million.
Given the increase in demand for its service, Netflix has decided to raise the price of its basic plan in the US to USD 11.99 per month from USD 9.99, and raise the price of its premium subscription to USD 22.99 per month from USD 19.99. This could attract more earnings per share in the future, which is what has helped NFLX's price soar.
From the technical analysis point of view:
→ NFLX price returns to the ascending channel that was in effect in 2023 and seems to be becoming relevant again. The false breakout pattern could become a support zone in the future.
→ NFLX price exceeded USD 370 per share.
Since early September, NFLX has been a laggard in the NASDAQ index, but after the report it may become one of the leaders. "While we have much work to do to build out this business, we're making good progress and laying the foundation for what we believe should be a multibillion-dollar revenue stream over time," Netflix executives wrote in a letter to shareholders.
Resistance to a powerful bullish impulse may come from:
→ psychological level of USD 400;
→ level at USD 412 – during the summer, the level provided support. But it was broken on September 13-14, and with a bearish gap, which could slow down the rally if the price of NFLX reaches this level. Also note that here is the Fibo resistance level of 50% of the decline A→B.
According to TipRanks, analysts have a target price of USD 454 for NFLX, but given its recent performance, the forecast could be raised.
This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only. It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.
The Life of Bitcoin: The definitive Historical Count Pt.3This is Part 3 of my epic series breaking down every major, relevant Segment in Bitcoins' price history, and explaining how they fit into the 'Historical Elliot Wave Count.' In short, what this Count implies is nothing less than astonishing: Essentially Bitcoin has just completed a decade long, (Running Triple Three) Wave 2 Correction and is now in an extremely powerful Wave 3 that should take the price to over 10 Million $ per coin, with the bulk of this appreciation (if not all) occurring within the next 5-10 years. See my published chart (which preceded the series) to view what the massive, Wave 2 Correction looks like when zoomed out, as well as a bit of the rationale that supports this Count:
Snapshot
Published Chart
Also, for more context as to what this series is all about, have a look at parts 1 and 2:
The Life of Bitcoin: The definitive Historical Count Pt.1
The Life of Bitcoin: The definitive Historical Count Pt.2
To date, the historical chart can be seperated into six Segments, I will be continuing to dedicate a post (a part of the series) to each of them. The term Segment should be taken loosely to mean a Section of the market data eligible for Classification as a Wave to be included in a larger Count. In this post, Segment 3 will be the focus. Again, I will continue to build upon the theme of speaking from a Direct perspective (analyzing one piece of the puzzle under a microscope), yet also gradually bridge the gap with an InDirect perspective (how the pieces of the puzzle all fit together, and how such necessarily informs the conclusions about any given piece). With the above in mind, consider that the start of every Segment or Wave is the end of another, thus why I thought it would be valuable to include a brief revisiting of Segment 2. Before jumping into Segment 3, I will again include a small taste of the flavor of the times.
Title for this Segment: "Venture Capital continues to flood into Bitcoin, Wall Street takes note"
In Post 2, we spoke about the fall of Mt. Gox, and whispers of the 'Tech guys' dipping their toes in the water amidst Bitcoins first ever prolonged bear market (before the 2013 rise it was a highly illiquid market). Throughout this bear market, government-confiscated Silk Road coins were continually auctioned off, serving to dampen all attempts at a trend-changing rally. It was amidst this backdrop that Bitcoin found its' first 'buyer of last resort' in Tim Draper, in this sense, he was basically the Michael Saylor of the times.
Without batting an eye, Draper, again and again, packed the trunk with three digit coins, instilling a confidence in the space the new, immature market had never seen. Not only did this buying have a very real effect on the supply-demand dynamic of an asset that aims to be the future of money, but it also influenced others in the shadows to begin to publicly speak out not just about their own positions but more importantly, their intentions to support the space with the Capital it would need to grow into the powerhouse it has now become. Draper (in addition to Andreesan, Hickey, Pantera, and a few others), was the first domino to fall: Segment 3 was characterized by all the rest following suit, piling into the space continuing to build out the Wallet, Exchange, and Merchant-Proccessing infrastructure. Similarly, Barry Silbert continued to bet big on Bitcoin offering the first 'legitimate' investment vehicle, a work-around of sorts that allowed money to flow in (which otherwise could not have using 'shady' overseas exchanges), forcing Wall Street to at least acknowledge the nascent asset. Ultimately, the CME would mark the top of the rise offering the first ever Bitcoin Futures market.
There were also another two topics dominating the 'flavor of the times' that bares mentioning: The Bitcoin Fork Wars Ethereum Mania. In the beginning of Segment 3, all attention was on what would be the culmination of a raging debate amongst the Bitcoin community: The block size debate. As the price began to rise from the ongoing influx of money mentioned earlier, uncertainty around how the block size debate would be resolved (or rather which approach, or combination of approaches, would win out, and how) loomed and served as the cold water to be poured on every potential acceleration of the new bull market. In the essence of staying on track with this post, I will condense the sequence of events to this brief summary: The decision by Bitmain to hard fork the Bitcoin Protocol resulting in a distinct coin Bitcoin Cash, the failure of an 'industry led' attempt to force a block size increase into the adoption of Segregated Witness ('SegWit2X'), and the adoption of Segregated Witness by Litecoin (as well as the threat of a 'User Activated Soft Fork') all contributed to any uncertainty the market migh have had about this ongoing debate being removed, thus leading to the 2017 blow off top.
Alongside all of this, Ethereum had become a household name, enabling and encouraging huge speculation to enter the market. Most of this speculation came from retail investors, who were intoxicated by the marketing of a more exotic Bitcoin, but this version had a 'boy genius' figurehead, providing a founder they could worship like the Tech Companies they were familiar with investing in. Prompted by the sound financial advice of CNBC and others (sarcasm), the crowd followed into Ethereum, ICOs, Ripple, and others setting the stage for the eventual popping of the bubble.
Of course, there was much more happening at the time, but hopefully the above should suffice in giving at least a feel for what occurred during this Segment. Now, let's get to the meat and potatos and dig into some charts. Segments 1 and 2 required many snapshots to cover, alternatively, going forward my analysis will likely be more consice as the stage has, for the most part, been set. I was able to condense both the Time and Wave Type analysis of Segment 3 into one main Chart Snapshot (which should also be the image in the published chart), this represents the complete picture of Segment 3 analyzed *from a Direct perspective*, it is the last snapshot. The first few snapshots help provide some preliminary techniques that help inform how both Segments 2 and 3 were counted, and how they each fit together and fit within the larger Historical Count.
Chart Snapshots (see below for a short description and/or any relevant notes):
-'Where' to begin Segment 3.
The ability to discern 'where' a Segment begins and ends is one of the most overlooked requisite skills needed to master the Elliot Wave Principle. Similar
to determing 'Where to begin your Count' in Part 1, getting this right is crucial, it establishes what will help serve as the foundation for your analysis.
-Where the price data connects 'Cleanly' (incorrect approach to determining the beginning of Segment 3).
-'Exposed Points' Duration, Degree,
Structure, and Type in and of the
Segments.
-Snapshot of the Published Chart.
🔜 20+ Year Treasury Bond Market. Perhaps This Is The End US stocks surprised much of Wall Street this year with a strong run that defied decades-high interest rates and recession calls. The rally was fueled by slower inflation and hype over artificial intelligence.
But more recently, the Federal Reserve's unwavering higher-for-longer rate stance and a deepening bond-market rout have had a sobering effect on equities sentiment, with the S&P 500 index halving its year-to-date gains.
Indeed stock valuations are looking increasingly stretched, raising the risk of a correction.
One such indicator in particular is flashing RED - the relative valuation of stocks versus the debt market.
SPX / ICE BofA Corporate Total Return Index
In August this year, the S&P 500 CBOE:SPX climbed to levels last seen during the peak of dot-com boom, relative to an index that tracks the US corporate bond market.
The gauge is still holding near those highs, despite the recent pullback in equities.
The metric last surged this high in the spring of 2000 — and that was followed by a multi-year meltdown in stocks that saw the S&P 500 crash 50% between March 2000 and October 2002.
SPX 50% Decline During 2000-2002
Another indicator that shows the richness of stocks relative to debt is the so-called equity risk premium — or the extra return on shares over government debt, which is considered a safer form of investment. The metric has plunged this year lows unseen in decades, indicating elevated stock valuations.
"Equity risk premium is near its worst ever level going back to 1927. In the 6 instances this has occurred, the markets saw a major correction & recession/depression - 1929, 1969, 99/00, 07, 18/19, present," research firm MacroEdge said in a recent post on X (ex-Twitter).
The so-called equity risk premium (earnings yield minus bond yield) recently fell to a new cycle low and remains well below historical averages. In other words, the stock market has become more expensive relative to the bond market despite the recent pullback.
Meanwhile the main graph (quarterly Div-adjusted chart for NASDAQ:TLT 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF) illustrates perhaps right there could the end for U.S. Govt Bond Market decline, with Double top as a further projected/ targeted upside price action.
Will all of that bring U.S. stock market to 50% decline like in early 2000s!?
Time will show!
Harnessing Gains from Yield Curve NormalisationNot too long ago, watching interest rates was as boring as looking at wet paint dry. Not anymore. Interest rates and currencies are as interesting as they get. The US dollar has been clocking moves more akin to an EM currency.
The greenback has been on a rollercoaster ride over the past three months in line with market expectations of Fed’s interest rate policy path. This paper is set in three parts. First, the background to rising rates and spiking yields leads to a brutal bond sell off. Then, the paper evaluates the case for further Fed rate hikes. In the third and final part, it dwells into factors that support a rate pause.
It is not just the rates but also the term structure of rates that’s gone off-the-chart. This paper posits a hypothetical spread trade inspired by the divergence in 30Y and 10Y treasuries with an entry at 13 bps and a target at 40 bps hedged by a stop at 5 bps delivering a reward-to-risk of 1.5x.
RISING RATES AND SPIKING YIELDS
Fed’s commitment to taming inflation with a higher-for-longer stance leads to a surging dollar. Spiking bond yields help reign in inflation through tightening monetary conditions.
The US 10Y Treasury Bond Yields surged to their highest level since 2007, by 20% or 0.8 percentage points since July 17th.
Chart 1: US 10Y and US 2Y Treasury Yields
Yield and Bond prices are inversely related. Surging yields have hammered bond prices lower resulting in a staggering record sell-off. Leveraged funds hold a record net short positioning in US 2-year and 10-year Treasury Futures.
Chart 2: Record Net Short Positioning by Leverage Funds
This brutal selloff has pushed yields to their highest levels in more than 15 years. Among others, portfolio managers and traders can position themselves one of the two ways:
Risk Hedged Yield Harvesting: Harvest risk hedged treasury yield using cash treasury positions and Treasury futures to generate income over a long horizon, or,
Gain from Yield Curve Normalisation: Deploy CME Micro Treasury Futures to engineer a spread trade to realise gains from a normalising yield curve.
In a previous paper , Mint Finance illustrated the first. Distinctly, this paper covers spread trade using CME Micro Treasury Futures.
THE CASE FOR HIKING
The September FOMC meeting re-affirmed a higher-for-longer rate regime. Though there was no rate hike, the updated Fed’s dot plot signalled very different expectations for the rates ahead.
The dot plot was updated to show a final rate hike in 2023 and fewer rate cuts in 2024.
Chart 3: Contrasting US Fed’s Dot Plot between 14/June versus 20/September ( Federal Reserve )
The Fed has adequate grounds to crank up rates even more as highlighted in a previous paper . These include (a) American exceptionalism where the US Economy has been remarkably resilient, (b) Expensive Oil due to geopolitics & receding base level effects, and (c) Brutal Lessons from past on the folly of premature easing.
THE CASE FOR PAUSE
Factors described above have led markets to price another rate hike at Fed meetings later this year. Those views have started to tilt further towards a pause since the start of October as per CME FedWatch tool.
Chart 4: Target Rate Probabilities For 13/Dec Fed Meeting ( CME FedWatch Tool )
Bond yields have surged, helping the Fed with their fight against inflation. Yields on US Treasuries surged to their highest since 2007. As yields are inversely proportional to bond prices, this is the equivalent of a major selloff in the bond market.
Three reasons behind the selloff:
1. Steepening Yield Curve:
Yields are finally catching up to market rates, especially for long-term treasuries; yield curve is steepening
Chart 5: Yield Curve is Steepening
2. Rising Sovereign Risk Premia: The US national debt passed USD 33 trillion and is set to reach USD 52 trillion within the next 10 years. Investors are demanding higher risk premia as compensation for default risk by a heavy borrower.
Chart 6: US Debt to GDP Ratio
3. Higher Yield to Compensate for Scorching Inflation: Investors are demanding higher real rates amid a high-inflation environment.
Chart 7: Real Yields are marginally above zero
Bond yields seem to be peaking. Solita Marcelli of UBS Global Wealth Management opines that the recent upward momentum in yields has been spurred largely by technical factors and is likely to be reversed given the overhang of uncertainty over underlying forces guiding the Treasury market.
Higher bond yields support a case for a Fed pause. This is because rising treasury yields do part of the Fed’s job. Higher treasury yields tighten financial conditions in addition to being a drag on the economy.
The Fed officials shared similar sentiments over the past week:
San Francisco Fed President Daly noted the moves in markets “could be equivalent to another rate hike”.
The Atlanta Fed chief opined that he doesn’t see the need for any more rate hikes.
The Dallas Fed President remarked that such a surge in bond markets may mean less need for additional rate increases.
The Fed has made it amply clear many times that it is data dependent. The data about the economy is positive. And that is concerning. Jobs data last week, and a sticky CPI print raise concerns that the Fed’s hand might be forced to hike despite US inflation being low among G7.
Chart 8: US Inflation is among the lowest within G7s
HYPOTHETICAL TRADE SETUP
Are we witnessing peak rates? In anticipation of the peak, investors can use CME Micro Treasury Futures to harness gains in a margin efficient manner. Micro Treasury Futures are intuitive as they are quoted in yields and are fully cash settled. They are settled daily to BrokerTec US Treasury benchmarks for price integrity and consistency.
As highlighted in a previous paper , each basis point change in yield represents a USD 10 change in notional value across all tenors, making spread trading seamless.
Setting up a position on yield inversion between 2Y and 10Y Treasuries is exposed to significant downside risks from near-term rate uncertainty.
Instead, a prudent alternative is for investors to establish a spread with a short position in 10Y rates and a long position in 30Y rates. The 30Y treasury rates demand a higher term premium due to their longer maturity.
Presently, this premium is just 0.15%. In the past, this premium has reached as high as 1% during periods of monetary policy shifts with yield curve steepening.
Chart 9: US Treasury Inverted Spreads
Furthermore, downside on this spread is limited as the 30Y-10Y premium scarcely falls below 0% unlike the 10Y-2Y premium which has been in deep inversion for the past year. A long position in 30Y Treasury and a short position in 10Y Treasury with:
Entry: 0.130 (13 basis points)
Target: 0.4 (40 basis points)
Stop Loss: -0.05 (5 basis points)
Profit at Target: USD 270 (27 basis points x USD 10)
Loss at Stop: USD 180 (18 basis points x USD 10)
Reward to Risk: 1.5x
Chart 10: Hypothetical Spread (Long 30Y & Short 10Y) Trade Set Up
MARKET DATA
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Understanding the Role of HFTs and Dark Pools for Day TradingNASDAQ:TSLA reports on Wednesday of this week, October 18th. Last quarter, it had a gap down on its earnings news based on Year over Year comparisons which triggered High Frequency Trading (HFTs) to gap the stock down. Quarter over Quarter, however, NASDAQ:TSLA has shown consistent growth this year.
The problem with determining if the HFT gaps are likely to gap down or up on the next earnings report is the very low Percentage of Shares Held by Giant Buy-Side Institutions (PSHI). TSLA’s CEO has lost the necessary confidence of the largest Buy-Side Institutions in the world. So it's institutional interest is extremely low for such an important US company. The Buy-Side Institutions want the Board of Directors to replace Musk with someone who is more focused on TSLA to help it grow. The PSHI is likely to remain low until a new CEO is chosen.
The highest the PSHI has ever been was in July 2020 when it reached a high of 71%. It dropped to a low of 43% in November of 2021 and the stock has been sideways with very low PSHI ever since. It is very rare to see such low PSHI in a young new technology company with such high growth potential.
With less support from largest most influential institutions, the HFTs, which use retail news as one of their 6 primary algorithm triggers for automated orders as Maker/Takers, often gap a stock down on earnings news that was actually not negative.
Smaller Fund Managers, who have a special SEC classification with lower reporting requirements, often have VWAP automated orders trigger on high volume surges. This is often mistaken by smaller funds and retail investors or traders as “Dark Pool high volume activity,” when it is not.
High PSHI creates a natural liquidity draw and thus more momentum and speculative price action. This is missing much of the time for NASDAQ:TSLA stock price movement.
The current sideways trend has existed since 2021, best seen on a Weekly Chart. The dimensions of the sideways trend and the irregularity of the price range determines whether the sideways trend is a Long Term Wide Trading Range, a Short Term Trading Range, a Wide Sideways Trend, or a Platform-Building Sideways Trend. This is a Long Term Trading Range due to the inconsistent highs and lows.
This is common in a stock that has PSHI below 60%.
On a Daily Chart, the fundamentals currently are within the rectangular shape outlined below. This area of price can be problematic for retail day traders as there are always portfolio adjustments going on by the Buy-Side Institutions who have ETFs and Index funds with TSLA as a component.
When the stock drops below that Buy Zone range, it quickly reverses and runs up into the lows of that fundamental range. This becomes a price range where there is conflict between retail day traders trying to trade on news and the Buy-Side Institutions accumulating inventory shares of TSLA for the Indexes or ETF Trust accounts that must maintain a value close to the ETF or index value upon which that ETF is based.
What happens intraday is a very choppy and indecisive price action up and down that causes whipsaw losses for day trading.
In order to successfully day-trade TSLA, these factors must be understood to use to one's advantage. This requires an understanding of how to identify a Dark Pool Sell Zone or a Dark Pool Buy Zone within the daily charts. It also requires an understanding of how HFTs trigger and how VWAP orders often cause whipsaw action as well.
Remember that Dark Pool data is not available during the trading day. That data is on Over-the-Counter Alternative Transaction Systems. Those orders are filled off the exchanges and are not transmitted to the National Clearing Houses until after the market closes.
Hence, ALL retail day traders are trading against an invisible entity whose orders they can’t see even on Level 2 screens. The art of day trading in harmony with Dark Pool activity requires what I call "Relational Technical Analysis."
False Bitcoin rumors revealing real market sentimentFake news sent Bitcoin up about 10% on Monday, surging from $27,900 to over $30,000 after Crypto news site Cointelegraph posted on X that the Securities and Exchange Commission had approved BlackRock’s spot bitcoin ETF application.
In response to the rumor, BlackRock had to clarify that no decision had been made regarding their ETF application. Even though the rumor has now been debunked, Bitcoin is still up more than 5%, at $28,600, with some movement suggesting that buyers are still willing to prob for more gains.
The 10% upside move has perhaps provided us with a preview of what might happen when/ if the SEC eventually approves or rejects BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF application. It could also be argued that we are also getting a glimpse into what could happen if the SEC rejects the application, with targets set at the pre-rumor price of $27,900 the first port of call.
A Traders' Weekly Playbook - energy markets to direct sentimentWe look at the scheduled economic data and US earnings this week and question if given the fluid news flow from the Middle East, these events move the dial or if geopolitics consumes the full attention and direct sentiment.
We saw a rush to hedge portfolios on Friday ahead of a darkening picture emerging in the Middle East. The situation is dynamic and it's too early to say if the hedges placed on Friday are unwarranted, but there have been pockets of positive news flow – for example, US Secretary of State Blinken saying aid will get to Gaza via the Egyptian border, and Israel opening water supply to Southern Gaza, with over 600k Gazans moving south.
A call between US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Iranian officials is a development, with the US warning not to increase aggression. As Israel's ground offensive pushes into Gaza, risk and energy markets will look for headlines and actions from Iranian officials who have stated they have a duty to come to the aid of the Palestinians.
Watching crude and Nat Gas
The energy markets are the first derivative to drive broad market sentiment this week, with crude and Nat Gas leading investors to trade volatility (options), as well as classic hedges such as gold and Treasuries. Amid a backdrop of ‘higher for longer’, and the US CPI inflation gaining 0.4% in September, higher energy prices could deliver a one-way punch to sentiment.
Given market participants are generally poor at pricing risk around geopolitical developments, it's no wonder most have looked to mitigate drawdown - but at this stage, while there is a growing wall of worry to potentially climb, the probability is traders will use strength in risky assets to reduce exposures.
The probability of supply disruptions is one of the key aspects here – last week we saw the closure of Chevron’s Tamar gas field in Israel – the focus has been rerouting that gas from the Leviathan gas fields in the North of Israel – if the market feels this gas field could be impacted then could see a spike in EU NG. Many energy experts see the risk of a supply event here as fairly low, but should developments escalate on various fronts, then the market will increase the possibility of a disruption.
The bear case for risk, given the potential for a significant rally in EU NG and crude, would be where the market increases the probability of Iran curtailing the movement of LNG through the Straits of Hormuz, where notably Qatar LNG supply (20% of the global LNG market) would be impacted. Again, this seems a low probability at this stage, but that will depend on Iran’s ongoing involvement and any new sanctions placed on them.
Downside risk to the EUR
If EU NG spikes higher in the near term, then talk of a renewed energy crisis in Europe will resurface and the EURUSD could be headed to parity. As said, this probability is a lower risk right now, but when considering the risks, this is the market concern that will be monitored.
While sentiment will move around on each headline, we revisit the hedging flows seen on Friday, as traders de-risked ahead of potential gapping risk – It’s too hard to make a call on whether these hedges are partly unwound in Asia.
Where did we see the hedging flows?
• Gold rallied 3.4% on Friday - a 3-sigma move and the second biggest day since 2020. A massive 299k gold futures contracts traded, the highest since May. XAUUSD 1-month implied volatility has pushed to 15% and 1-week call volatility has increased to a 1.75 vol premium to puts – the most since March.
• The XAUUSD price closed at a 2.8% premium to the 5-day moving average, which shows the sheer pace of the intraday rally, with limited intraday mean reversion – sellers just stood aside.
• Brent crude closed 5% higher with our Brent price closing over $91 and eyeing a move back to the recent highs of $96 – WTI Crude futures saw the curve lift and go further into backwardation – this typically means the market sees a higher probability of a supply shock.
• In equities, the VIX traded to a high of 20.78%, settling at 19.3% (+2.6 vols on the day) – a VIX index at 19.3% implies daily % changes in the S&P500 of 1.2% and 2.7% on the week.
• S&P 1-month put implied vol now trades at a 5.46 vol premium to 1-month calls – This volatility ‘Skew’ is now the most bearish since May – traders are ramping up the demand for downside puts to protect in case of drawdown.
• Market breadth was ok with 46% of S&P500 stocks closed higher – there was no blanket selling, but a rotation from tech and consumer names into energy and defensive sectors - staples, utilities, and healthcare.
• While we saw some buying in petrocurrencies (NOK & CAD) but traders played defense buying into the CHF & JPY – short NZDCHF was the play of the day (-1.4%), with GBPCHF breaking the long-run range lows.
• US Treasuries rallied with 10’s closing -8bp and 30’s -10bp.
Marquee event risks for the week ahead:
• NZ Q3 CPI (17 Oct 08:45 AEDT) – the market consensus is for 1.9% QoQ / 5.9% YoY (from 6%) – NZDCHF was the biggest percentage mover on Friday following the risk aversion flows – will the sellers follow through?
• UK jobless claims/wage data (17 Oct 17:00 AEDT) – the consensus for wages sits at 7.8% (unchanged) – UK swaps place a 29% chance of a hike from the BoE at the 2 Nov BoE meeting, will the wage data influence that pricing? GBPCHF trades the weakest levels since Oct 2022 and looks likely to be sold on rallies
• US retail sales (17 Oct 23:30 AEDT) – the advanced read is expected at 0.3% mom and the ‘control group’ element at -0.1%. The retail numbers could influence market sentiment, especially if we see a big miss to expectations, with USDJPY and USDCHF the pairs most sensitive to a weaker outcome. Gold could find further buyers on a downside surprise.
• Canada CPI (23:30 AEDT) – headline CPI is expected at 4% yoy, with core CPI eyed at 4% yoy
• Fed chair Jay Powell speaks at the Economic Club of NY (20 Oct 03:00 AEDT) – the highlight of the week. Expect Powell to focus on the view that moves in the bond market are mitigating the need for the Fed to hike further.
• China Q3 GDP (18 Oct 13:00 AEDT) – consensus is 4.5% yoy (from 6.3%) – likely a trough in China’s GDP, with better levels ahead.
• China Industrial production, fixed asset investment, retail sales (18 Oct 13:00 AEDT)
• UK Sept CPI (18 Oct 17:00 AEDT) – the consensus for headline CPI is 6.6% yoy (from 6.7%) / core CPI at 6% yoy (6.2%) – a risk to manage for traders holding GBP exposures
• EU CPI (18 Oct 20:00 AEDT) – no change expected in the revision, with headline CPI eyed at 4.3% /core CPI at 4.5%. Should be a non-event for the EUR and EU equities.
• Australia employment report (19 Oct 11:30 AEDT) – the consensus estimate is for 20k jobs to have been created in September and the U/E rate unchanged at 3.7% - expect the impact from Aussie jobs to be short-lived – preference to work sell limits in AUDUSD on the day and sell into strength.
• China new homes prices (19 Oct 12:30 AEDT)
• China 1 & 5-year Prime Rate (20 Oct 12:15 AEDT) – the consensus is no change with the 1yr rate to stay at 5.2% & the 5yr rate at 3.45%
US Earnings (with the implied move on earnings) – Goldman Sachs (3.7%), Bank of America (4.6%), Tesla (5.2%), Netflix (7.5%)
Central bank speeches:
BoE – Huw Pill, Sam Woods, Swati Dhingra
ECB – Villeroy, Knot, Centeno, Guindos, Holzmann
Fed – see schedule below
How to Trade the Gap & GoWelcome to the final instalment of our 7-part Power Patterns series where we aim to give you the skills to trade powerful price patterns which occur on any timeframe in every market.
Last but by no means least is the Gap & Go pattern. Price gaps epitomise power and the Gap & Go is must for any active trading looking to take advantage in a spike in volatility.
We’ll teach you:
How to identify the best Gap & Go patterns
Why the catalyst behind the pattern is crucial
A simple technique for managing a Gap & Go trade
I. Understanding the Gap & Go:
The Gap and Go pattern revolves around a simple concept: market shocks take time to fully price in.
A price gap occurs when a stock "gaps" higher or lower from its previous closing price when the market opens. The price gap represents a shock and in certain circumstances traders can anticipate a continuation of price movement in the direction of the price gap.
Here are the key components of the Gap & Go trade setup:
Identify the gap: The first step is to identify stocks that exhibit a noticeable price gap between the previous day's closing price and the current day's opening price. This gap can be either bullish (a gap up) or bearish (a gap down).
Breaking structure: The price gap should break above or below a level of resistance (or support). Gaps that break key structural levels are likely to draw in a higher level of participation.
High volume: The price gap should occur on higher-than-average volume. Higher volume indicates increased participation and suggests that a significant number of market participants are actively reacting to the news or event that caused the gap.
Bullish Gap & Go:
Bearish Gap & Go:
II. Know the catalyst behind the gap:
Stock prices can gap higher or lower for a multitude of reasons and some of the reasons make better trading catalysts than others.
As a general rule, you want the gap to form on a piece of stock-specific newsflow that has recalibrated market expectations.
Remember, central to the pattern working is that the shock which caused the gap must take time to price in – hence mechanical events such as dividends and corporate actions are of no use, so too are confirmed bids.
The best catalysts for Gap & Go trades will be earnings surprises (good or bad), and a change in outlook (good or bad). In general, trading updates tend to lead to more surprises that Interim and Annual Reports, as they occur within reporting periods.
Good catalysts:
Trading update
Interim results (change of outlook)
Annual results (change of outlook)
Bid rumour
Broker upgrade / downgrade
Bad catalysts:
Ex dividend
Corporate actions
Global news event
Confirmed bid
Top Tip: For the stocks you like to trade, make sure you add a calendar alert for when the company releases Trading Updates and Interim/Annual Reports. This may help you to anticipate price gaps.
III. How to Trade the Gap & Go:
Whilst the Gap & Go pattern can be traded in many different ways and on many different timeframes. We favour getting to grips with this pattern on the hourly candle chart first. On this timeframe gaps will be clear, levels of risk can be kept relatively small, and trades can play out across one or two trading days.
Here’s how to start trading the Gap & Go on the hourly candle chart:
Entry : Wait for prices to stabilise following the opening rotations. The gap should be maintained after the first hour of trading and there should be no signs of exhaustion. Enter during the second hour of trading.
Stop-loss placement : Traders can either place a stop above (or below) the 9 period exponential moving average (EMA) or use a multiple of the Average True Range (ATR) above (or below) the entry price.
Price targets : The expectation for the Gap & Go trade setup is to catch a clean swing of price movement in the direction of the gap. For this reason, the 9EMA is a useful tool as a dynamic profit target – traders should close their position on a close back above (or below) the 9EMA. This method does not cap upside in fast moving markets but ensure discipline and allows traders to attempt to capture the ‘meat of the move’.
Bullish Gap & Go Trade Setup:
Bearish Gap & Go Trade Setup:
IV. Managing risks and pitfalls:
Be wary of opening reversals: It is important that prices stabilise and maintain the gap before entering a Gap & Go trade. On occasions, prices will gap lower only to reverse sharply during the first hour of trading. The stronger your understanding of the subtle nuances of trading around the open, the better you will be at trading the Gap & Go pattern.
Risk management: The Gap & Go pattern by definition is trading during an expansion in volatility. Therefore, it is essential that traders implement proper risk management techniques, such as position sizing and diversifying your trading portfolio.
Disclaimer: This is for information and learning purposes only. The information provided does not constitute investment advice nor take into account the individual financial circumstances or objectives of any investor. Any information that may be provided relating to past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results or performance.
Markets embrace the Higher-for-Longer themeIt has been a big week of central bank policy announcements. While central banks in the US, UK, Switzerland, and Japan left key policy rates unchanged, the trajectory ahead remains vastly different. These central bank announcements were accompanied by a significant upward breakout in bond yields. Interestingly most of the increase in yields has been driven by higher real yields rather than breakeven inflation signifying a tightening of conditions. The bond markets appear to be acknowledging that until recession hits, yields are likely to keep rising.
Connecting the dots
The current stance of monetary policy continues to remain restrictive. The Fed’s dot plot, which the US central bank uses to signal its outlook for the path of interest rates, shows the median year-end projection for the federal funds rate at 5.6%. The dot plot of rate projections shows policymakers (12 of the 19 policymakers) still foresee one more rate hike this year. Furthermore, the 2024 and 2025 rate projections notched up by 50Bps, a signal the Fed expects rates to stay higher for longer.
The key surprise was the upgrade in growth and unemployment projections beyond 2023, suggesting a more optimistic outlook on the economy. The Fed’s caution is justified amidst the prevailing headwinds – higher oil prices, the resumption of student loan payments, the United Auto Workers strike, and a potential government shutdown.
Quantitative tightening continues on autopilot, with the Fed continuing to shrink its balance sheet by $95 billion per month. Risk assets such as equities, credit struggled this week as US yields continued to grind higher. The correction in risk assets remains supportive for the US dollar.
A hawkish pause by the Bank of England
In sharp contrast to the US, economic data has weakened across the board in the UK, with the exception of wage growth. The weakness in labour markets is likely to feed through into lower wages as discussed here. After 14 straights rate hikes, the weaker economic backdrop in the UK coupled with falling inflation influenced the Bank of England’s (BOE) decision to keep rates on hold at 5.25%. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was keen to stress that interest rates are likely to stay at current levels for an extended period and only if there was evidence of persistent inflation pressures would further tightening in policy be required.
By the next meeting in November, we expect economic conditions to move in the MPC’s favour and wage growth to have eased materially. As inflation declines, the rise in real interest rates is likely to drag the economy lower without the MPC having to raise interest rates further. That said, the MPC is unlikely to start cutting rates until this time next year and even then, we only expect to see a gradual decline in rates.
Bank of Japan maintains a dovish stance
Having just tweaked Yield Curve Control (YCC) at its prior Monetary Policy Meeting (MPM) on 28 July, the Bank of Japan decided to keep its ultra easy monetary settings unchanged. The BOJ expects inflation to decelerate and said core inflation has been around 3% owing to pass-through price increases. Governor Ueda confirmed that only if inflation accompanied by the wages goal was in sight would the BOJ consider an end to YCC and a rate shift.
With its loose monetary policy, the BOJ has been an outlier among major central banks like the Fed, ECB and BOE which have all been hiking interest rates. That policy divergence has been a key driver of the yen’s weakness. While headline inflation in Japan has been declining, core inflation has remained persistently higher. The BOJ meeting confirmed that there is still some time before the BOJ exits from negative interest rate policy which is likely to keep the Yen under pressure. The developments in US Monetary Policy feeding into a stronger US dollar are also likely to exert further downside pressure on the Yen.
This year global investors have taken note that Japanese stocks are benefitting from the weaker Yen, relatively cheaper valuations and a long-waited return of inflation. Japanese companies are also becoming more receptive to corporate reform and shareholder engagement.
Adopting a hedged Japanese exposure
Taking a hedged exposure to dividend paying Japanese equities would be a prudent approach amidst the weaker yen. This goes to a point we often make - currency changes do not need to impact your foreign return, and you can target that local market return by hedging your currency risk. A hedged Japanese dividend paying equity exposure could enable an investor to hedge their exposure to the Yen.
This material is prepared by WisdomTree and its affiliates and is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed are as of the date of production and may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by WisdomTree, nor any affiliate, nor any of their officers, employees or agents. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
Gasoline futures portend pleasure at the pumpAmong my favorite charts this time of year is that of RBOB gasoline futures. Often as Halloween approaches, wholesale gasoline costs start coming down significantly from highs in the summer. Call it a nice treat for commuters and families around the country. As it stands, the prompt-month of RBOB is now under $2.20 - that's a fresh 10-month low should we close here.
RBOB at $2.18 means that retail pump prices should continue their recent trend lower, eventually finding the $3.20 mark if the historical premium of about $0.95 holds. It's key to remember that the price difference between the futures and the retail cost of a gallon of regular unleaded depends on a host of factors - taxes, transport costs, refiner margins, and refinery outages being among them.
I see a bit more downside ahead on the chart. Consider that, according to seasonal data from Equity Clock, RBOB tends to move lower from mid-October through early December. That could mean gas prices under $3 in terms of a national retail average by, say, Christmas. Keep your eye on the low from last December - $2.05. Another layer of possible dip-buyers could come into play near $1.95. On the upside, I see resistance near $2.45 - the range lows from this past May and June.
The US Super Bubble Theory Credit for this perspective goes to u/RS3175. They shared their log Elliot waves with me and I found it so interesting I had to chart it up for myself. They've done better labelling of the wave than I have. I'll post their pic at the bottom of the page.
Firstly, what are we looking at? A logarithmic chart covering all of the SPX trading history with the entire thing fitting inside the context of the Elliott Wave Theory.
Unless you really like Elliot, I'm sure you're beyond sceptical but let me tell you a few things of note about Elliot. Elliot lost his job in the depression and started to study markets trying to work out why. This was how he devised his theory. The rally up to the high and the depression crash is a literal textbook example of the Elliot Wave.
Even if you don't think Elliot Waves work - Elliot based his wave theory on this move. This IS the original Elliot Wave.
What Elliot noticed was that this shape occurred over and over again on small timeframes and built up to a huge version on a bigger timeframe. Like Russian Dolls, but in reverse. Elliot published his theory in the 40s and died soon after. Elliot would be dead before the the depression high was broken.
In his 1940s book Elliot referred to the depression as a typically ABC correction. Implicate to this statement is a forecast of a new bull market and that bull market developing in five main waves before then entering into a bigger correction. And that was a very good forecast of what would happen over the next 25 years.
So Elliot deserves some credit. There would not have been many people who made forecasts of new highs and trending through them in 1940.
Elliot deserves a lot of credit, to be honest. Because here was the next moves.
Paul Tudor Jones famously shorted this 1987 crash and there are documentaries from 1985-1986 in which Jones and his team are using a mixture of Elliot Wave theory and matching up moves of last decade relative to the 1920s. They were running a computer program tracking correlation, finding it incredible high and betting on it.
Jones was long the rally and short the drop - And it's documented a year before the crash trade that he was using Elliot for his forecast of it. If you look up Jones forecasts at the time he was actually completely wrong. He thought it was heading into a depression. There'd be the first break and then there'd be the 1930s style downtrend.
They thought this because the correlation of price moves in their time relative to 1987 were so high (I can't remember specifically but I think it was over 80%).
I think this lends a lot of credibility to Elliot's work. Not only would his 1940's book forecast these types of 5 leg bubble moves and then sharp corrections but it was also famously used in real time to trade the rally and crash of the 1980s. If you do not think Elliot Wave works, is has! On a big scale, it has worked so far. Elliot's implied forecasts happened.
When DJI was $100 Elliot was hardly going to call DJI to $33,000 but if he'd taken the perspective that the Depression was wave 2 - what he would have forecast would be an extremely accurate forecast of what went on to happen in markets for decade after decade to come.
One would have to think if Elliot was with us today, he might well be a bear.
Here's @RS3175's chart: www.tradingview.com
The implied swings of this would match up with my Elliot bear waves forecast of 2021 (Even though we've took very different routes there).
Would the Middle East Conflict Push Gold and Oil Prices Higher?NYMEX: WTI Crude Oil ( NYMEX:CL1! ), COMEX: Micro Gold Futures ( COMEX_MINI:MGC1! )
Over the weekend, military conflict in Gaza between Israel and Palestine shocked the world. I condemn violence against civilians and pray for the victims and their families.
In the following paragraphs, I will discuss how the prices of strategically important commodities, namely gold and crude oil, might respond to the eruption of a global crisis.
Firstly, let’s look back into the recent past for those crises arising to a global scale. In the last five years, the world has witnessed three major crises of very different natures:
• US-China Trade Conflict: from January 2018 to January 2020, the world’s two largest economies imposed import duties to each other in a series of escalating actions and retaliations. A major event occurred on September 18, 2018, where President Trump added 10% tariff on nearly all Chinese-made products. The US-China trade conflict forever altered the global supply chain, with its impact being felt till today.
• Covid-19, the most severe pandemic in a century, from its outbreak in January 2020 to 2021. A big event that sparked market fear occurred on February 2, 2020, where the US imposed travel restrictions on incoming air passengers.
• Russia-Ukraine Conflict: the first military conflict in Europe since World War II, from February 14, 2022, till now.
Secondly, let’s measure how gold and WTI crude oil responded to these crises. For my analysis, I denote the day before Event Day as T0, where we may find last market prices before the impact hit. Event Day will be T+1, and then 1-week after (T+7), 1-month after (1M), 3-month after (3M), all the way through 1-year after (1Y). Here are what I found:
US-China Trade Conflict
• Gold spot price (T0) = $1,201.90 per Troy Ounce
• Price changes by time: -0.1% (T+1), +0.1% (T+7), +2.3% (1M), +3.3% (3M), +8.6% (6M), +11.6% (9M), +25.0% (1Y)
• Comment: Trade tension between US and China could push the global economy into a recession. Gold, a safe-haven asset, saw its market value growing 25% in a year.
• WTI crude oil spot price (T0) = $69.86 per barrel
• Price changes by time: +1.2% (T+1), +6.3% (T+7), +4.3% (1M), -27.7% (3M), -14.2% (6M), -24.6% (9M), -8.4% (1Y)
• Comment: High tariff raised the price consumers had to pay, hence reducing demand. Crude was down 28% three months after the all-in tariff was imposed.
Covid Pandemic
• Gold spot price (T0) = $1,574.75 per Troy Ounce
• Price changes by time: -1.0% (T+1), -0.1% (T+7), +2.6% (1M), +8.5% (3M), +24.4% (6M), +21.2% (9M), +16.6% (1Y)
• Comment: We saw the biggest stock market selloff in March 2020. Gold price was down initially as stock traders needed to raise money and meet margin calls. However, a flight to safety eventually took place, and gold was up 24% in six months.
• WTI crude oil spot price (T0) = $53.09 per barrel
• Price changes by time: -5.0% (T+1), -11.9% (T+7), -77.1% (1M), -61.4% (3M), -23.1% (6M), -31.1% (9M), +0.9% (1Y)
• Comment: Rapid Covid outbreaks stroke fear. Lockdowns put global activities to a pause. The pandemic wiped out oil demand, with WTI falling 80% in a month. April 20, 2020 made history as oil price of the expiring contract went below zero. As storage cost more than selling price, traders were willing to pay others to take away the crude for free.
Russia-Ukraine Conflict
• Gold spot price (T0) = $1,854.60 per Troy Ounce
• Price changes by time: -2.5% (T+1), -2.5% (T+7), +6.5% (1M), -1.8% (3M), -2.8% (6M), -5.0% (9M), +5.0% (1Y)
• WTI crude oil spot price (T0) = $91.25 per barrel
• Price changes by time: +4.7% (T+1), +5.3% (T+7), +30.7% (1M), +12.90 (3M), +1.1% (6M), +0.6% (9M), -17.2% (1Y)
• Comment: A major military conflict in Europe significantly raised the global risk level. Gold, the safe-haven asset, and crude oil, an energy commodity critically important in wartime, both went up in the first month, by 6.5% and 30.7%, respectively.
• However, the impact was short-lived. On March 16, 2022, the Fed begin hiking interest rates, which has become the driving force in global market. Impact from Russia-Ukraine became a secondary factor and sat in the back burner.
To sum up the above examples, I observe that gold prices usually go up in the aftermath of a global crisis. Crude oil has a mixed bag of reactions. If a crisis results in economic recession and a consequential reduction in oil demand, oil prices would go down. However, in the case of a major war, oil price would go up due to its strategic importance.
Review: Event-driven Strategy focusing on Global Crises
In June 2022, I introduced a three-factor pricing model for commodities futures:
Commodities Futures Price = Intrinsic Value + Market Sentiment + Crisis Premium
Intrinsic Value is the baseline cash price of the underlying commodities, determined by available supply, demand, inventory, shipping costs, and factors affecting these variables.
Market Sentiment indicates if investors are bullish or bearish. Whether speculative investors place more money on the long side or the short side affects the price of a futures contract. Market sentiment could be either positive or negative, resulting in a price premium or a discount of the intrinsic value.
The new Crisis Premium factor captures “Event Shock” during a global geopolitical crisis.
Previous trade example:
Russia and Ukraine together accounted for 28% of global wheat export. Wheat price shot up by 75% following the start of the conflict. I designed a Long Strangle options strategy on CBOT Wheat futures, and simultaneously bought out-of-the-money (OTM) call and put options. A “risk-on” outcome could push wheat price higher, making the calls more valuable, where a “risk-off” outcome would pull wheat price back down, making the puts in-the-money (ITM).
Trading Opportunities with Micro Gold
Since the September FOMC meeting, gold prices suffered a 6.3% drawdown, sending the futures price from $1,969 to $1,845. Friday settlement price was nearly 9% below the yearly high.
On the one hand, high-interest money market funds beat out non-interest-yielding gold investment; on the other hand, strong dollar raised the cost of gold purchase by foreign investors. As a result, gold prices have been under pressure.
However, my analysis illustrates that gold prices could rise in response to geopolitical conflicts. Since its founding, Israel had five major wars with its Arab neighbors. We do not know whether this time it would be contained as a regional conflict or spark a chain reaction of a global war. By the intensity of how it started, it doesn’t seem like a short one.
To express a view of rising gold prices, we could consider a long position in COMEX Micro Gold Futures ( AMEX:MGC ). The December contract (MGCZ3) was settled at $1,845. Each contract has a notional value of 10 troy ounces, or $18,450 at market price. CME Group requires an initial margin of $780 per contract.
Hypothetically, if gold futures go back up to $2020, its yearly high, the $175 ($2020-$1845) price increase would translate into $1,750 for a long futures position. If gold price goes down instead, each dollar of decline would result in a loss of $10 per contract.
Alternatively, we could consider the newly launched Micro Gold Options. A Long Strangle Options Strategy, where simultaneously buying OTM calls or puts, could be deployed if we expect a big move in gold price, but not certain of its direction.
Trading Opportunities with WTI Crude Oil
Since June, WTI crude oil first staged a nearly 40% rise, from $67 going to $93. However, it has seen a 9% drawdown since the Fed meeting on September 20th.
A major military conflict in the Middle East, the world’s most important oil producing region, threatens to interrupt oil supply and push up oil price. If the conflict is escalated to involve major oil exporting nations, the situation could be dire.
To express a view of rising crude price, we could consider a long position in NYMEX WTI Futures ( NYSE:CL ). The December contract (CLZ3) was settled at $83.18. Each contract has a notional value of 1,000 barrels, or $83,180 at market price. CME Group requires an initial margin of $6,186 per contract.
Hypothetically, if WTI futures go up above $100, which we saw from February to July 2022 in the first months of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the $17 price increase would translate into $17,000 for a long futures position. If crude oil price goes down instead, each dollar of decline would result in a loss of $1000 per contract.
Similarly, the newly launched Micro WTI Options could express a view that a big move in oil price is expected, without knowing its direction.
Happy Trading.
Disclaimers
*Trade ideas cited above are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management under the market scenarios being discussed. They shall not be construed as investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services.
CME Real-time Market Data help identify trading set-ups and express my market views. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
Storms are Brewing: Is your Portfolio Weatherproof? Risk strikes when least expected. Optimism peaks before a downturn strikes. Chart below shows remarkable spike in articles mentioning soft-landing before recession hits. Human brain is engineered to think linearly.
Anything non-linear tricks the mind. Recession is non-linear which muddles up investor estimates of recession, its timing and impact.
Count of Soft-landing Articles & US Recession (Source: Bloomberg )
The US Federal Reserve in its fight against inflation has lifted rates by an unprecedented 525 basis points since the start of 2022.
Yet the American economy, US corporations, and the US consumer are remarkably resilient. Non-Farm Payrolls last week came strong. When the Fed is tightening its levers to slow the economy, nothing seems to stop its rise. What explains this anomaly?
Three words. Monetary Policy Transmission.
Monetary policy transmission takes time, lulling many to believe that consumers and corporates are resilient. When in fact, they are yet to face the consequence of constrained credit markets which will manifest itself in myriad ways from reduced availability of financing, high cost of funding, and rising bankruptcies, just to name a few.
This paper is set in two parts. First part describes monetary policy transmission. Part two dives into storms forming in the horizon. The paper concludes with a hypothetical trade set-up using CME Micro S&P 500 Options to defend portfolios from deepening polycrisis.
Despite the risk narratives, a soft landing may still be possible. However, the combined impact of Fed’s hawkish stance, rising geopolitical tensions, continuing auto workers strike, tightening of financial conditions, and elevated oil prices & yields renders the likelihood of a soft landing, super slim.
Narratives around the soft-landing aside, CTAs have dumped nearly USD 40 billion worth of S&P 500 futures positions marking the fastest unwind on record over the last two weeks as reported by Goldman Sachs.
PART 1: MONETARY POLICY TRANSMISSION
Monetary policy operates with long and unpredictable lags. Monetary Policy Transmission is the process through which a Central Bank’s decisions impact the economy and the price levels. The flow chart below schematically describes the downstream impact of quantitative tightening.
Monetary Policy Transmission Takes Time (Source: ECB )
Changes made to official interest rates affect markets in diverse ways and at distinct stages. Central bank's interest rate decisions impact the markets in the following seven ways:
1. Banks and Money Markets: Rate changes directly affect money-market rates and, indirectly, lending and deposit rates.
2. Expectations: Expectations of future rate changes influence medium and long-term interest rates. Monetary policy guides expectations of future inflation.
3. Asset Prices: Financing conditions and market expectations triggered by monetary policy cause adjustments in asset prices and the FX rates.
4. Savings & investment decisions : Rate changes affect saving and investment decisions of households and firms.
5. Credit Supply: Higher rates increase the risk of borrower default. Banks scale back on lending to households and firms. This may also reduce consumption and investment.
6. Aggregate demand & prices: Changes in consumption and investment will change the level of domestic demand for goods and services relative to domestic supply.
7. Supply of bank loans: Changes in policy rates affect banks’ marginal cost for obtaining external finance differently, depending on the level of a bank’s own resources/capital.
The mechanism is characterized by long, variable, and indefinite time lags. As a result, it is difficult to predict the precise timing of monetary policy actions on economy and inflation.
For some sectors, monetary policy transmission can take as long as 18 to 24 months. In other words, the full force of the Fed’s 525 basis points spike since 2022 will not be felt until early 2024. Added to that, the Fed may not be done hiking yet.
Probabilities of Rate Anticipation in Prospective Fed Meetings (Source: CME FedWatch Tool )
PART 2: STORMS ARE FORMING
Not one but three major storms are brewing in parallel, namely (1) Worsening Geo-politics, (2) US Sovereign Risk Fears, and (3) Tightening Financial Conditions. One or more of them could unleash havoc, sending financial markets into a tailspin.
1. WORSENING GEO-POLITICS
Adding to the geopolitical conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Hamas attack on Israel over the weekend has elevated geo-political tensions. If counter strikes escalate to a wider region impacting Strait of Hormuz, then oil prices could spiral up sharply, sending shocks across financial markets.
Oil prices lost steam last week. That doesn’t guarantee lower prices. Eerily, this month marks 50-year anniversary of oil emergency in 1973 which led to oil prices spiking 3x back then.
The US Strategic Petroleum Reserves are at a 40-year low. The reserves are at 17-days of consumption compared to an average of 34-days consumption observed over the last thirty years.
2. US SOVEREIGN RISK FEARS: The US government is facing multiple challenges of its own. The government narrowly avoided a shutdown and has kicked the problem can down the road only by six weeks. Long before investors take relief, the shutdown fear will resurface again.
Add to that is the rising US debt levels. With a debt burden of USD 33 trillion, the government debt is forecasted to reach USD 52 trillion by 2033.
With rates remaining elevated, a substantial chunk of US Government debt will be directed towards interest payments. Is there a risk of US debt default?
To compensate for that risk, bond yields are climbing. The 10-Year treasury yields rose to 16-year high of 4.6%. With jobs market remaining solid, the data-driven Fed might have to keep the rates higher for longer.
The futures market implies a probability of 42% for a rate hike during the Fed’s December meeting. Any further hikes can tip the recovering housing market back into crisis due to exorbitant mortgage rates. High yields also cost it dearly for firms to borrow.
3. TIGHTENING FINANCIAL CONDITIONS: Dwindling liquid assets, resumption of student loan repayments, stringent lending practices atop heavy debt burden on US Corporates are collectively weighing down on investor sentiments.
Student Loan Repayments: After 3.5 years of loan servicing holidays, millions of students will resume student loan repayments. Bloomberg estimates that these repayments can shave 0.2% to 0.3% off US GDP.
Depleted Savings: Strength of the US Consumers will be put to stress tests. Extra savings from pandemic stimulus checks have been depleted to below pre-pandemic levels for low-income categories. Consumer strength could turn into weakness in the coming weeks.
Inflation Adjusted Liquid Asset Holdings by Income Group (Source: US Fed and Bloomberg Calculations )
Stringent Lending Standards: The Fed’s Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS) on Bank Lending Practices points to 50% of the banks imposing stringent criteria for commercial & industrial loans. Lending conditions are at levels last seen during 2008 global financial crisis. Impact of this will be felt in Q4 when business will be stifled from access to funds.
Tightening Standards of Commercial & Industrial Loans (Source: July 2023 SLOOS Survey )
Corporate Debt Burden: Years of extremely low cost of funding have tempted US corporates into a debt binge. With rates rising, the debt burden is getting heavier on corporate balance sheets, cash flows, and profitability as reported by Bloomberg. Leverage ratios are rising. Interest coverage ratios are falling. Average Free Cash Flow to Debt ratios are plunging.
Debt burden amid rising rate environment is hurting US Blue Chips (Source: Bloomberg Intelligence )
HYPOTHETICAL TRADE SETUP
Against the backdrop of these risks, this paper posits a hypothetical back spread with puts to gain from sharp index moves. Unlike a long straddle, this option strategy delivers (a) outsized gains when markets plunge, and (b) limited downside risk if market remains flat or rises despite the risks.
This strategy involves selling one unit of at-the-money puts to finance purchase of two units of out-of-the-money puts. This strategy can be executed either for net positive premium or net negative premium depending on the choice of strikes.
Specifically, the hypothetical trade illustration is built around CME Micro Monthly S&P 500 Options expiring on 29th December 2023 (EXZ3). The strategy involves (a) selling 1 lot of EXZ3 at a strike of 4400 collecting a premium of USD 655 (131.16 index points x 1 lot x USD 5/index point), and (b) buying 2 lots of EXZ3 at a strike of 4300 paying a premium of USD 950 (95.041 index points x 2 lots x USD 5/index point).
The hypothetical trade involves a net debit of USD 295 (58.922 index points * USD 5/index point). This trade breaks even when S&P 500 (a) falls below 4141, or (b) rises above 4400.
Pay-off from Back Spread with Puts Trade Strategy (Source: CME QuikStrike )
Summary pay-off from this trading strategy is illustrated in the table below.
MARKET DATA
CME Real-time Market Data helps identify trading set-ups and express market views better. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
DISCLAIMER
This case study is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services.
Trading or investment ideas cited here are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management or trading under the market scenarios being discussed. Please read the FULL DISCLAIMER the link to which is provided in our profile description.