RF's Financial News

RF's Financial News

Saturday, September 27, 2014

This Week in Barrons - 9-28-2014

This Week in Barrons – 9-28-2014:














Dear Ms. Yellen:

Ms. Yellen, are you at all worried that we’re loosing the currency devaluation race?  Europe and Japan are printing money like there is no tomorrow.  Even China stuck a $500 Billion QE toe into the shallow end of the pool.  This dual blast from the Pacific and Atlantic is sending the dollar higher.  The dollar rally is causing a little deflation, which is showing up in such things as the reduced price of gasoline – just in time for the November mid-term elections.  I was thinking, given your balance sheet now contains over $4 Trillion in short term maturities, can’t you just keep rolling $100’s of Billions of dollars back into the economy as these short-term maturities come due?  So I think you have a built-in QE – yes?  And I don’t think you’ll need to PRINT any more money, unless (of course) either government deficits increase or you wish to raise interest rates.  I’m betting you’re going to start discussing these things right after the mid-term elections – am I right?

Ms. Yellen, due to the re-engineering and re-design of ALL of our economic indexes: GDP (target of 5% growth), Unemployment (6%), and Inflation (1.5%) – are these targets sheer fantasy at this point?  For example, even though the 2nd quarter estimates for GDP were raised to 4.6% - the Commerce Department itself said ALL categories looked strong - EXCEPT Consumer Spending.  That’s like saying: “You’re in great health – EXCEPT for having Cancer.”  Any high-school sophomore knows that two-thirds of the economic activity comes from the consumer.  So if consumer spending remains weak, how are the GDP estimates revised higher?  Oh – I remember – that’s why you re-engineered and re-designed the GDP calculation to include $100’s of Billions of (previously not-counted) non-tangible assets – my apologies.

Ms. Yellen, does it bother you that for the first time in many decades, the entire Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve will be completely appointed by one President (Obama)?  Imagine if Obama were able to appoint every Justice on the Supreme Court, we would most likely have a one-sided Supreme Court.  Aren’t you at all worried that we now have (and will continue to have during your 14-year team) a one-sided FED?  In fact, during the last FOMC meeting, the only dissenting members against your policies were non-Obama appointees – Mr. Fisher and Mr. Plosser.  With the recent resignations of Mr. Fisher and Mr. Plosser, doesn’t it feel a little bit like: ‘marrying your sister’?

Ms. Yellen, your monetary concept is frequently referred to as ‘inflating your way out of debt’.  Under this scenario, you’re hoping that prices will increase enough to offset our debt obligations.  I agree with the concept, as long as it’s attached to a reasonable understanding that the debt will be repaid.  Does it bother you that mathematically there is no hope of the U.S. ever repaying its debts?

And lastly Ms. Yellen, on the subject of interest rates – isn’t this simply the ‘chicken and egg’ problem?  Meaning, if you want to end QE and the FED buying U.S. bonds, you will need to find someone else to buy the bonds – yes?  The only way to generate interest in our bonds is by offering a compelling interest rate.  However, if you raise the interest rate – you: 1) stall economic growth, and 2) further increase government deficit spending because the interest on the existing U.S. debt would increase astronomically.  Hence, I don’t understand how you can ever raise rates without stalling economic growth and increasing government deficits – but then how do you find buyers at non-competitive prices.  Oh – I forgot about funneling these ‘fake purchases’ thru Belgium – my apologies.

Ms Yellen, I’m worried that when the ‘s**t hits the fan’ (and it will), everyone that believes in these numbers and has followed you – will act surprised and say – “No one saw that coming!”  Just like those blind ideologues did during the housing crisis and the dot.com crisis before that.  Oops – I guess that’s why history continues to repeat itself – again, my apologies.


The Market:

This week:
-       Stock outflows continued – making it 21 out of 22 weeks that we’ve seen an outflow from stock funds.
-       Mortgage applications fell by over 4.1% again last month.  Houses aren't selling because millennials don't necessarily want a house, and because nobody has the money to buy them anyway.  And (to add insult to injury) delinquent home mortgages increased 5% last month.
-       The auto industry is being fueled by subprime loans.  Lately, many subprime loans come with a ‘start-blocker’ installed in the car.  That means if you're late on a payment, they turn the switch, and no matter where you are, your car won't start any more – until you pay.
-       When you think manipulation, the DOW index is composed of 30 stocks; the Russell index of 2,000 stocks.  With the DOW continuing to make new highs, while 40% of the Russell 2,000 is down over 20% this year – Which index do you think is being manipulated?
-       Over the past 12 months, stock buy-back programs have grown by 30% to an incredible $550 Billion.  The sole purpose of a stock buy-back is to push the stock price higher – so that corporate executives can cash-in their stock options at inflated prices.  So far this year – less than 7,000 corporate ‘insiders’ have PURCHASED any stock in their own companies while over 23,000 ‘insiders’ have SOLD stock in their own companies.
-       For the first time in history, volume in WEEKLY SPX options has eclipsed the MONTHLY volume.  This tells us that ‘trading horizons’ are continuing to shorten.
-       France and Germany are showing a noticeable slowdown in their economies.  Maybe the European markets have a) Taken a hit because the U.S. market took a hit, b) Are taking a hit over their lousy economic policies (Russian sanctions), and/or c) Are using the ‘air strikes’ as a good excuse to ‘lighten-up’ on activities and positions.
-       Finally, Goldman Sachs Asset Management predicts that Treasury 10-year yields will climb to their highest levels in four years – as the FED ends its bond-buying program, and weighs the first interest-rate increase since 2006.  In fact, they are suggesting that 10-year rates could rise to 4%.  Honestly, if rates move from the current 2.5% to 4% - you will see a ‘blow-up’ like no other.  Everyone has priced in debt at 2.5%, and a rise of 1.5% (a 60% increase) would bring out a whole new swarm of ‘Lehman Brothers’ catastrophes.

Just this week a server in a restaurant recommended a stock to me.  That reminded me of a story: In the 1920’s, J.P. Morgan arrived bright ‘n early at the Stock Exchange – like he did every morning.  On this particular morning the shoeshine boy gave Mr. Morgan a stock tip.  When Mr. Morgan entered the exchange he told all of his staff to SELL everything, and to ‘short’ the market.  When they asked why, he said: “The shoeshine boy just gave me a stock tip.”  His staff seemed baffled by his response.  Mr. Morgan then said: “If the shoeshine boy is advising and buying stocks, there is no one left that is NOT buying; therefore, without any more buyers – it’s TIME to SELL.”  What followed was the Great Depression.  Welcome to October!


Tips:

If we take a look at the various markets and sectors:
-       The DAX (in Germany) is grinding lower.
-       The Euro Stock 50 (European index) is holding up better than the DAX – but not by much.
-       The NASDAQ (NDX) had a respectable retracement bounce on Friday – admittedly on half volume, and the battle that is brewing is whether we can close above the trend line and re-test the highs – OR obey the existing trend line and keep going lower.  In either case, I think we obey the 4,000 to 4,100 range for this week.
-       The S&P’s (SPX) are still in a down-trend, and unless it breaks it’s trend line to the upside – we’re going to continue to grind lower.  1,960 is the first level of support on a drop, and 1,940 is the lower bound.  If we get a little consolidation, we could get a bounce in here and start forming the second shoulder into the mid-term elections.
-       The Russell (RUT) – the small-cap stock index – is by far the weakest index.  To regain my faith in the overall economy, the Russell 2,000 (RUT) needs to find support here, and start rallying.
-       The Financials (XLF) are somewhat ‘hanging out’ here – neither leading or lagging the market.
-       The Energy Sector (XLE) has been decimated, but on Friday it changed momentum and could begin to move higher this week.
-       Bonds (TLT) held up nicely on Friday (despite the market rally later in the day), and proved that this is a good hedge for the stock market.
-       The VIX (VIX) is in a ‘squeeze’, and when this happens stocks often sell off significantly.  The VIX is still in the 15-range, and I suspect it will stay in here as we consolidate this week.

As far as the overall market, there are a lot of variables coming on the horizon.  Next week we will be watching for more market reaction from this week’s roller coaster, and from the Non-Farm Payrolls Labor Report that is due out on Friday.  I think that we will continue to see the tug of war between the bulls and the bears with (at least early in the week) the bears winning as we grind lower in ‘sell-off’ mode.

My current list of potential candidates this week is starting to grow again.  On the radar are the indexes: RUT, SPX, NDX, and the stocks: FB, GILD, IG, RARE, and INSY are my longs, with NFLX, VMW and TSLA being my top ‘shorting’ candidates.  I continue to sell 1+ standard deviation PCS’s (Put Credit Spreads) and CCS’s (Call Credit Spreads) on the NDX, SPX and RUT – because selling those are somewhat agnostic to market direction.  If the weekly market direction is ‘UP’ – I sell more Call Credit Spreads, if it’s ‘DOWN’ – I sell more Put Credit Spreads.

My current short-term holds are:
-       FEYE (Cyber-Sec) – in @ $28.76 – (currently $31.98),
-       KO (Beverage) – in @ $41.17 – (currently $42.20),
-       LNG (Energy) – in @ $57.40 – (currently $80.14), and  

My Small Caps (earned 19.73% in the month of August):
-       LNGLF (Energy) – in @ $3.54 – (currently $3.68),
-       IG – in @ $7.27 – (currently $9.23),
-       VDSI (Cyber-Sec) – in @ $14.17 – (currently $18.90), and
-       INSY – in @ $35.14 – (currently $38.16).

To follow me on Twitter and get my daily thoughts and trades – my handle is: taylorpamm. 

Please be safe out there!

Disclaimer:
Expressed thoughts proffered within the BARRONS REPORT, a Private and free weekly economic newsletter, are those of noted entrepreneur, professor and author, R.F. Culbertson, contributing sources and those he interviews.  You can learn more and get your free subscription by visiting: <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com> .

Please write to Mr. Culbertson at: <rfc@culbertsons.com> to inform him of any reproductions, including when and where copy will be reproduced. You may use in complete form or, if quoting in brief, reference <rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com>.

If you'd like to view RF's actual stock trades - and see more of his thoughts - please feel free to sign up as a Twitter follower -  "taylorpamm" is the handle.

If you'd like to see RF in action - teaching people about investing - please feel free to view the TED talk that he gave on Fearless Investing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Z9I_6ciH0

To unsubscribe please refer to the bottom of the email.

Views expressed are provided for information purposes only and should not be construed in any way as an offer, an endorsement, or inducement to invest and is not in any way a testimony of, or associated with Mr. Culbertson's other firms or associations.  Mr. Culbertson and related parties are not registered and licensed brokers.  This message may contain information that is confidential or privileged and is intended only for the individual or entity named above and does not constitute an offer for or advice about any alternative investment product. Such advice can only be made when accompanied by a prospectus or similar offering document.  Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Please make sure to review important disclosures at the end of each article.

Note: Joining BARRONS REPORT is not an offering for any investment. It represents only the opinions of RF Culbertson and Associates.

PAST RESULTS ARE NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. THERE IS RISK OF LOSS AS WELL AS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR GAIN WHEN INVESTING IN MANAGED FUNDS. WHEN CONSIDERING ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS (INCLUDING HEDGE FUNDS) AN INVESTOR SHOULD CONSIDER VARIOUS RISKS INCLUDING THE FACT THAT SOME PRODUCTS AND OTHER SPECULATIVE INVESTMENT PRACTICES MAY INCREASE RISK OF INVESTMENT LOSS; MAY NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE SAME REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS AS MUTUAL FUNDS, OFTEN CHARGE HIGH FEES, AND IN MANY CASES THE UNDERLYING INVESTMENTS ARE NOT TRANSPARENT AND ARE KNOWN ONLY TO THE INVESTMENT MANAGER.

Alternative investment performance can be volatile. An investor could lose all or a substantial amount of his or her investment. Often, alternative investment fund and account managers have total trading authority over their funds or accounts; the use of a single advisor applying generally similar trading programs could mean lack of diversification and, consequently, higher risk. There is often no secondary market for an investor's interest in alternative investments, and none is expected to develop.

All material presented herein is believed to be reliable but we cannot attest to its accuracy. Opinions expressed in these reports may change without prior notice. Culbertson and/or the staff may or may not have investments in any funds cited above.

Remember the Blog: <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com/> 
Until next week – be safe.

R.F. Culbertson
<http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com>



Sunday, September 21, 2014

This Week in Barrons - 9-21-2014

This Week in Barrons – 9-21-2014:















Dear Ms. Yellen:

Thank you Ms. Yellen for what you (and your predecessor ‘The Ben Bernake’) have done to interest rates over the past 5 years.  I don’t have much savings, so reducing a bank’s CD rates to below inflation really doesn’t bother me all that much.  And now that the economy is doing fine, I understand you think it’s time to raise the interest rates back up to normal levels.  That all makes sense to me.  A quick question: When you raise interest rates in the next 6 months – where do I find the additional dollars to pay my higher mortgage payment?  I mean, housing starts were down over 14% last month, and there are 53% more vacant homes for sale right now, than in 2010.  It’s pretty clear to me that the real estate community is having trouble selling houses with your incredibly low interest rates - How are they going to sell houses when the interest rates rise?  And when rates rise, can Uncle Sam afford to pay the interest payments on our national debt?  When rates rise, will I be able to afford to buy a new car, truck and toys for my kids?  So, in other words, with wages stagnant – is there a reason why you’re turning off ‘life support’ to our economy?

Least I forget I also wanted to thank you (Ms. Yellen) for what you’ve done to the stock market and my 401k.  However, many people don’t realize that 47% of the NASDAQ and 40% of the Russell (small-cap) stocks are down 20% in the past 12 months.  That's a lot of stocks in virtual ‘bear market’ territory.  But I’m worried about my 401K, you see:
-       When you ended QE1 – the market fell.
-       When you ended QE2 – the market fell.
-       When you ended QE Twist – the market fell.
Now that you’ve confirmed ending QE3 in October, what should I do about the impending market crash?  Should I take my money out of the market now?

Lastly, I also wanted to thank you (Ms. Yellen) for the strength in the U.S. dollar.  This dollar strength allows me to think better about the Democratic candidates as a strong dollar has kept prices low on gasoline, food, that new iPhone, and even a couple extra beers while watching Monday Night Football.  But the Consumer Price Index FELL for the first time in over a year last week – should I be worried about deflation?  And having a strong dollar goes right against what you’re trying to do with QE and zero rates – yes?  I mean even China (this week) announced a $500B QE program for their troubled banks.  So, when the mid-term elections are over, how quickly do you think you will return to the ‘printing press’ and the devaluation, currency wars against Japan and Europe again?  Should I buy things now before the prices go up?


The Market:

In Germany, their 2-year bond is paying a negative rate of return.  So if you took your money and purchased a German, government sponsored, 2-year note – you are going to PAY THEM to hold your money.  As bizarre as this sounds, when I look around the world I’m seeing savings rates that are at 200 year lows.  France’s 10-year yields have dropped to their lowest levels in 250 years – 1.52%.  The good and bad news is, it’s not just Ms. Yellen pushing the boundaries of insanity – it’s the world. 

In the past 36 months, we have not had a typical market correction of 10%.  This length of time between corrections has only occurred 3 times in the history of our market.  This week we received the ‘wink and nod’ from Ms. Yellen about interest rates – so we made all-time highs.  We launched the life-changing iPhone6 – so we made new all-time highs.  And we had the largest IPO in history, Alibaba – so we made new all-time highs.  But:
-       Friday was a triple witching options expiration day.  That’s an event that occurs 4 times a year, when the contracts for stock index futures, stock index options, and stock options all expire on the same day.  It often leads to a choppy market as major players square off their positions and institute new ones.  The week after ‘triple witching’ has been down/red 17 out of the past 22 weeks.
-       The market also put in a Hindenburg Omen (and confirmation) this week. This omen is a combination of technical data points that tend to mark a market peak.  It’s telling us that there is about a 30% chance of a market crash over the next 4 months.
-       Ms. Yellen confirmed that QE would end in October.
-       The IWM is the ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) for the Russell 2000.  The Russell 2000 is comprised of the small companies in the market that often set the direction for the big companies.  Well, the IWM is getting awfully close to falling below it’s 200-day moving average – which is not a bullish sign for the markets.
-       The CRB index (which measures the price of commodities) is dying a ‘not too slow’ death.  On Friday the index fell to a 4-year low, prompting the more intelligent to ask: If the world is in a recovery, shouldn’t it be buying more stuff and not less?  Oil and gas demand are down.  Copper demand is down.  If no one is buying commodities, how much of a recovery can there possibly be?
-       This week FedEx beat their estimates.  But if you read the companies OWN press release, they say that their stock buy back added 15 cents to the bottom line.  In other words if they hadn't spent billions to buy back their own stock, they would have MISSED earnings by a penny.  And (by the way) you know all that FED speak about no inflation – FedEx announced an across the board price increase of 5% starting in January.
-       But nothing (and I mean NOTHING) screams recovery (or lack of one) like Caterpillar.  Despite all of their stock buy back programs and their share price over $100 – they have had 21 straight months of DECLINING year over year global sales.

Bottom line, it feels like we might be just days or weeks away from a really good pull back.


Tips:

Reducing my portfolio over the past couple of weeks seems to have worked – and this week I’ve reduced it even further.  Being fearful of a market pullback, I’m now holding significant positions in a couple of the energy stocks, and a couple cyber-security stocks.  I continue to sell 1+ standard deviation PCS’s (Put Credit Spreads) and CCS’s (Call Credit Spreads) on the NDX, SPX and RUT – because selling those are somewhat agnostic to market direction.  If the weekly market direction is ‘UP’ – I sell more Put Credit Spreads, if it’s ‘DOWN’ – I sell more Call Credit Spreads.

If the market does decide to change directions, I would strongly recommend:
-       SELLING Call Credit Spreads for weekly income,
-       BUYING Put Options on your favorite high-flying stocks, and/or
-       BUYING ‘inverse’ ETFs.

If you’re uncomfortable with playing in the ‘Options’ market, there are ‘inverse’ ETFs that go up when the stock market goes down.  For instance, if you think the S&P is going to go lower, you can buy the SH.  This is a ‘one for one’ ETF, that goes one point higher for every point that the S&P goes lower.  The SDS goes 2 points higher for every one point that the S&P goes down.  And the SPXU goes 3 points higher for every one point that the S&P declines   All of the major index's have inverse ETF's.  For the DOW, consider looking at: the DOG for the 1 to 1 relationship, the DXD for the 2 to 1 relationship, and the SDOW for the 3 to 1 relationship.  There are approximately 70 inverse ETFs out there for those uncomfortable investing in options.

My current short-term holds are:
-       FEYE (Cyber-Sec) – in @ $28.76 – (currently $33.95),
-       KO (Beverage) – in @ $41.17 – (currently $42.05),
-       LNG (Energy) – in @ $57.40 – (currently $84.16), and  

My Small Caps (earned 19.73% in the month of August):
-       LNGLF (Energy) – in @ $3.54 – (currently $3.89),
-       IG – in @ $7.27 – (currently $7.55), and
-       VDSI (Cyber-Sec) – in @ $14.17 – (currently $19.13)

To follow me on Twitter and get my daily thoughts and trades – my handle is: taylorpamm. 

Please be safe out there!

Disclaimer:
Expressed thoughts proffered within the BARRONS REPORT, a Private and free weekly economic newsletter, are those of noted entrepreneur, professor and author, R.F. Culbertson, contributing sources and those he interviews.  You can learn more and get your free subscription by visiting: <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com> .

Please write to Mr. Culbertson at: <rfc@culbertsons.com> to inform him of any reproductions, including when and where copy will be reproduced. You may use in complete form or, if quoting in brief, reference <rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com>.

If you'd like to view RF's actual stock trades - and see more of his thoughts - please feel free to sign up as a Twitter follower -  "taylorpamm" is the handle.

If you'd like to see RF in action - teaching people about investing - please feel free to view the TED talk that he gave on Fearless Investing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Z9I_6ciH0

To unsubscribe please refer to the bottom of the email.

Views expressed are provided for information purposes only and should not be construed in any way as an offer, an endorsement, or inducement to invest and is not in any way a testimony of, or associated with Mr. Culbertson's other firms or associations.  Mr. Culbertson and related parties are not registered and licensed brokers.  This message may contain information that is confidential or privileged and is intended only for the individual or entity named above and does not constitute an offer for or advice about any alternative investment product. Such advice can only be made when accompanied by a prospectus or similar offering document.  Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Please make sure to review important disclosures at the end of each article.

Note: Joining BARRONS REPORT is not an offering for any investment. It represents only the opinions of RF Culbertson and Associates.

PAST RESULTS ARE NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. THERE IS RISK OF LOSS AS WELL AS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR GAIN WHEN INVESTING IN MANAGED FUNDS. WHEN CONSIDERING ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS (INCLUDING HEDGE FUNDS) AN INVESTOR SHOULD CONSIDER VARIOUS RISKS INCLUDING THE FACT THAT SOME PRODUCTS AND OTHER SPECULATIVE INVESTMENT PRACTICES MAY INCREASE RISK OF INVESTMENT LOSS; MAY NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE SAME REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS AS MUTUAL FUNDS, OFTEN CHARGE HIGH FEES, AND IN MANY CASES THE UNDERLYING INVESTMENTS ARE NOT TRANSPARENT AND ARE KNOWN ONLY TO THE INVESTMENT MANAGER.

Alternative investment performance can be volatile. An investor could lose all or a substantial amount of his or her investment. Often, alternative investment fund and account managers have total trading authority over their funds or accounts; the use of a single advisor applying generally similar trading programs could mean lack of diversification and, consequently, higher risk. There is often no secondary market for an investor's interest in alternative investments, and none is expected to develop.

All material presented herein is believed to be reliable but we cannot attest to its accuracy. Opinions expressed in these reports may change without prior notice. Culbertson and/or the staff may or may not have investments in any funds cited above.

Remember the Blog: <http://
rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com/> 
Until next week – be safe.

R.F. Culbertson
<http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com>