As we take a second shot at the "spoo2k" level, its worth highlighting a chart which has probably received more airtime than any other on wall street. This chart has been used to suggest equity price moves are basically being driven tick for tick by the expansion of the Fed's balance sheet. Typically the chart […]

On the surface, Stan Fischer's first speech as the Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board this past Monday might seem a bit depressing. The word "disappoint" (as in disappointing and disappointment) shows up 5 times. The word "slowdown" shows up 8 times, and the word "slow" itself shows up another 8 times. The word […]

Maybe I have been looking at different data releases than the rest of the market, but I don't see what all the fuss is about. I understand payrolls were a few thousand short of expectations - but +209k is highly respectable. And the 3mth, 6th and 12mth moving averages are 245k, 244k and 214k. This […]

Just a quick note post GDP and pre FOMC. Today's GDP report resolved the much discussed discrepancy between the IP/employment data and the output data. Of course the strong data won the battle and that is worth celebrating. The hater community will now need to do some serious soul searching to find something to complain […]

Last week the S&P500 touched a new record high of 1991.39. Within the coming weeks it is highly likely we will surpass the psychologically important level of 2000. So this got me thinking - how much time will it take before we see a doubling of the S&P to its next major "record" milestone of […]

On Sunday I tuned into "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos for the first time ever. I used to love "This Week" with David Brinkley, but given the barrage of information which has become available from internet and social media sources over the last 10-15 years, these programs simply lost their relevance for me. In any […]

One of this summer's biggest clubbing hits is a tune from Li'l John and DJ Snake entitled "Turn down for what". It's basically a song about keeping the party going, with Li'l John singing over and over again - "Fire up that loud/Another round of shots". It's a catchy tune for sure, and I would […]

Janet finished out her first semester with a solid A at the press conference. The C- from her first appearance has been successfully diluted with a sequence of dovish speeches and testimonies combined with her latest perfect performance. She can now head into the slow summer vacation period with a very respectable A-. Her benign […]

Next week I will jet off to Europe for one month - two weeks visiting clients and two weeks back in the homeland for a little R&R. I will try to write from the road as I usually do, but my output may become a bit spotty in late June/early July as I check out […]

As I watched Mario's presser yesterday I could not help but think of that infamous scene from "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" where Dr Evil announces his plan to hold the world hostage for....."one million dollars". Mario spoke with an unusual level of authority and power. And he delivered everything the market could have […]