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Volatility is Smiling

The Credit Suisse Fear Barometer has dropped like a rock since the beginning of May:

This has little to nothing to do with implied volatility dropping and everything to do with the shape of the implied volatility curve.  In this case, the 1 month 10% out of the money call option implied volatility has risen from about 12.4% to 14.4%.  This extra 10% out of the money call premium has made 10% out of the money puts more affordable even though the put cost hasn’t changed:

This might get at the renewed sense that we are going to have binary outcomes in the near-term.  Either the Fed is going to reinforce its commitment to quantitative easing and the market shoots up OR the Fed is going to hint at a pull-back in quantitative easing and the market is going to fall off a cliff.

This manic behaviour definitely played out today in the S&P 500.  When the Fed indicated its commitment, the market shot up in the morning.  When the thought sunk in that the Fed might prematurely scale back its purchases, the market pulled back sharply:

2.3% range doesn't quite compare with silver but we are getting there

Up is down, right is left.  Nothing matters except for how long and how much QE is going to be pumped into the system.  Economic news only influences traders’ thoughts on whether it will shorten or lengthen the life of quantitative easing.  The only thing that can be certain is that before all is said and done, at least one bubble will be inflated and at least one bubble will burst in the aftermath of our central bank experimentation.  Japan seems to be a likely and volatile candidate.

 

Posted in Markets, Politics.

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Gold Stocks: Its Time To Be BRAVE!

Guest Post from David Banister, Chief Strategist www.themarkettrendforecast.com

I used to half joke with some of my investing friends that the best time to buy stocks is during or right after a crash.  Think 1987, 2000-2002, 2008-09, and now perhaps Gold Miners?? Well, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, lets examine evidence of a “Crash”: I like to use crowd behavioral, empirical, and technical evidence in combination.

1. In a recent money managers poll, virtually nobody was bullish on Gold or Gold stocks, and over 80% of those polled were bullish on the SP 500 and US stocks.

2. The percentage of Dumb Money traders (non-reportable traders) in the futures markets with short positions on Gold is at all time highs, they tend to be very long at the highs and very short at the lows.

3. The insider buying ratio of Gold Mining stocks to sellers is running over 10 to 1, the highest since October 2008 when Gold bottomed out at $685 per ounce from $1030 highs.  Quoting Ted Dixon, CEO of Ink Research, “such a high level of buying interest among officers and directors within their own businesses in the resource sector has correctly foreshadowed a recovery in share prices in the past: That high point of nearly five years ago came about six weeks before the Venture market bottomed on Dec. 5, 2008…While the excitement that surrounded mining stocks as recently as two years ago has waned, experienced value investors recognize that such periods of investor neglect often give rise to the best deals” Source: Theglobeandmail.com

4. The ratio of the HUI Gold Bugs Index to the SP 500 is at multi year lows and in near crash mode on the charts. The RSI Index (Relative strength) on the weekly charts is at 10 year lows at -13.71, which is off the charts low!!

5. Most trading message boards I view at Stocktwits and others are universally bearish on Gold and Gold stocks.

6. Gold is in a wave B or Wave 5 down re-testing the 1322 lows which we have discussed here for weeks as very likely if 1470 was not taken out on the upside… this is a normal sentiment pattern and re-test.

7. Gold has been in a 21 Fibonacci month correction pattern off a 34 Fibonacci month rally from 686-1923. In August of 2011 I penned articles from 1805 right up to 1900 warning of a massive wave 3 top forming.  Everyone was bullish, now it’s the complete opposite.

8. Currency debasement continues around the world with negative real interest rates. This is bullish for Gold once this correction has run its course.

9. Hulbert Digest Gold Sentiment index is at an all time low (gold newsletters at -35 sentiment readings!!)

10. Gold -Silver put to call ratios are at all time highs

I could go on and on with headlines and such, but you get the idea.  This is the same type of sentiment I wrote about on the stock market on Feb 25th 2009, here  is that article... and nobody on the planet was bullish.

Below is a chart showing the Bullish % index for Gold Miners, as you can see the last time we were at 0% was late 2008 when Gold had bottomed out and insiders were also buying like crazy like now:

The GLD ETF chart also shows a likely re-test or slightly lower of the 1322 futures lows of April, when Insider buying hit 10 year record levels:

Obviously Gold could end up going a lot lower than we think, and the Gold Mining stocks could sink further yet. But for those with a 3-6 month horizon, we expect the 21-24 month Gold correction to complete by no later than October 2013.  During the next several months the opportunities to buy some miners on the cheap will potentially make some investors a lot of money in the coming few years.

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Posted in Markets.


Explosive Silver

When an asset trades in a double digit percentage range within a day, I tend to take notice.  The central bankers might have (temporarily) extinguished all volatility in the equity markets, but they certainly seemed to ignite fires in the commodity markets with silver being the recent spastic asset:

I heard someone say that the drop in silver/gold is a rotation out of those asset classes and into equities because faith has been restored in the markets and global economy.  I find that statement comical.

It is often the case that we witness volatile prices in different asset classes before something bad happens.  Just how long can the game of musical chairs continue, that is the market timer’s question.

Posted in Markets.

Tagged with , .


Noteworthy News – May 20, 2013

Economy:

The 1 Percent Are Only Half the Problem -New York Times

Is Wal-Mart in Trouble? – Slate

Labor Costs, Inflation Expectations, and the Affordable Care Act: What Businesses Are Telling Us – Federal Bank of Atlanta

Velocity Achieved in U.S. as Growth for Two Years Seen in Poll – Bloomberg

Brazil isn’t growing—so why are Brazilians so happy? – Economist

The humble hero: Containers have been more important for globalisation than freer trade – Economist

Markets:

What Stock to Buy? Hey, Mom, Don’t Ask Me – New York Times

Just How Useless Is the Asset-Management Industry? – Harvard Business Review

Gold futures sink below $1,400 an ounce – MarketWatch

After a decade of decline, it’s time for the dollar to have its day – Telegraph

Politics:

Taxes on some wealthy French top 100 pct of income – Reuters

If The Economy Will Collapse When The Fed Stops Printing Money Then Lets Keep Printing – Slate

A Simple Graph That Should Silence Austerians and Gold Bugs Forever – Atlantic

Banks:

Rogue banks remain too big to fail: Our view – USA Today

Regulators on alert as US banks boost commercial loans – Financial Times

Posted in Economics, Markets, Media, Politics.


One Last Gasp

Markets go hyperbolic more often than we would like.  The only predictable fact is that markets cannot continue to go hyperbolic indefinitely.  I got a lot of flack for doubting the ability of bitcoin to continue its rocket trajectory, but in all bubbles comes a burst.  The burst is usually more noteworthy than the rally.

The Nikkei is our newest darling:

The most interesting question is whether this is the beginning of the unraveling for Japan.  Their 10 year yield has gone from 44bps to 85bps in a matter of a month and their stock market is overheating.  Is this the result of effective central bank intervention or the spasms before the collapse?

Posted in Economics, Markets.

Tagged with , , .




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