December 2014 CPI Annual Inflation Rate Falls from 1.3% to 0.8%. Wow!
by Doug Short and Steven Hansen
The Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) year-over-year inflation rate dropped to 0.8%. Of course energy prices decreased, while food and several other goods increased partially countering energy's decline. The year-over-year core inflation rate again declined 0.1% to 1.6%, and continues well under the targets set by the Federal Reserve.
Market Commentary: Markets Close Higher, But Remained Down 1.3% For The Week, DOW Up 191 Points
Written by Gary
Closing Market Commentary For 01-16-2015
Afternoon markets drifted upwards on falling volume ending the week on a positive note. WTI oil also melted upwards gaining 2 points while Brent traded sideways trying to penetrate the 50 resistance. Gold and copper were up while the US dollar closed above the now support of 93.
By 4 pm the averages moved higher to break their five day loosing streak, but remained down 1.3% for its 3rd straight weekly loss. The DOW closed 191 points up with the $RUT closing almost 2% higher.
What We Read Today 16 January 2015
Econintersect: Every day our editors collect the most interesting things they find from around the internet and present a summary "reading list" which will include very brief summaries (and sometimes longer ones) of why each item has gotten our attention. Suggestions from readers for "reading list" items are gratefully reviewed, although sometimes space limits the number included.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
Last Day for Paywall A Starting tomorrow (17 January 2015) What We Read Today (WWRT) will be available at no charge for all subscribers to our free daily newsletter. Each day a new ID and password will be in the newsltter to allow our newsletter "members" access. Our goal is to make WWRT our readers' first source for news, finance and economics review daily.
Market Commentary: Markets Remain Elevated, Volatility Down, Quiet Session Ahead
Written by Gary
Midday Market Commentary For 01-16-2015
Morning markets have climbed to new session highs and started trading sideways at the mid-day. Volatility and volume has tapered off after an exciting morning. My thoughts of the market descending have not materialized, but then we have all of next week.
By noon the markets were elevated, trading sideways in a sea-saw fashion and volume falling to low levels. Forecast is a relatively quiet afternoon with a fractional, brief sell-off during the last 5 minutes.
Swiss Ten-Year Goes Negative
Econintersect: In early January the German five-year government bund price rose to the point that the imputed interest at maturity would be less than zero. In other words, the price in the market was more than the nominal face value (which is repaid at maturity) plus the total of all coupons to be paid during the life of the bond. Three days ago the Japanese five-year treasury entered the same negative interest domain. Switzerland has joined the club with the first ten-year bond to charge you for ownership.Zurich Turns the Euro into Swiss Cheese
But What will Happen to Switzerland?
Econintersect: The Swiss National Bank shocked financial markets on Thursday by scrapping a three-year-old cap on the franc, sending the currency soaring against the euro. Reuters said "stocks were plunging on fears for the export-reliant Swiss economy. Michael Haltman at GEI News (Switzerland Goes Further into Never-Never Land) had quotes from Clare O'Dea at SWI describing in detail how manufacturing, exporting and tourism in Switzerland would be hurt, but also pointing out that retail prices for the many imported products in Switzerland would be coming down.
Man Shoots, Kills Officer Wearing Body Cam
A disturbing body cam video shows a suspect fatally shoot a police officer multiple times. CNN's Chris Cuomo talks to the officer's father.
Market Commentary: Markets Open Up +0.3%, Slide To Unchanged, Currently Positive, Trending Further Down Expected
Written by Gary
Opening Market Commentary For 01-16-2015
Premarkets were down -0.2% and moved up to -0.1% after the mixed 'not-so-good' financial reports this morning. The opening quickly moved the averages up +0.3% into the green following climbing oil prices, but by the 15 minute mark the DOW slid back down into the unchanged line.
By 10 am the averages were trending down with a sea-saw motion that is unlikely to not help anyone but the day traders. Volatility and moderate to high volume is making ultimate market direction difficult. Bottom line guess: down.
09 January 2015: ECRI's WLI Unchanged - Remains in Negative Territory
ECRI's WLI Growth Index declined and has remained in negative territory for 13 weeks. This index is forecasting a slight business cycle contraction in 1H2015. Obviously the markets do not share ECRI's view the business cycle is taking a downturn. ECRI also released their inflation index and is discussed below.Preliminary January 2015 Michigan Consumer Sentiment at Eleven Year High
by Doug Short, Advisor Perspectives/dshort.com
The Preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment for January came in at 98.1, a strong surge from last month's final reading of 93.6. This is the highest level of sentiment in eleven years. Today's sentiment level came in substantially above the Investing.com forecast of 94.1.
A Word from This Newsletter's Sponsor for 16 January 2015
Free Trading Report: One-Time Framing Technique
For a limited time, download master trader Larry Levin s famous $1,900,336.82 trading technique online.
Learn the technique Larry used to make a fortune trading the markets - 100% Free!
December 2014 Industrial Production Weakens but Pretty Much at Expectations
Written by Steven Hansen
The headlines say seasonally adjusted Industrial Production (IP) declined.Econintersect's analysis agrees - BUT consider that the unadjusted rolling averages are accelerating.
New York Region Survey Indicates Business Conditions Are Finally Back To Normal
by Jaison R. Abel, Jason Bram, and Richard Deitz - Liberty Street Economics, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
The New York Fed's January Business Leaders Survey indicates that the regional economy kicked off the New Year on a positive note. This monthly survey-which covers firms in the service sector in New York State, northern New Jersey, and southwestern Connecticut-dates back to 2004, and this month marks the one-year anniversary of its public release. In addition to showing a solid increase in regional economic activity, employment, and wages, January's survey signals that the regional economy has reached an important milestone: firms are saying that business conditions are finally back to normal for the first time since before the Great Recession.
Covered Calls without the Calls
Online Trading Academy Article of the Week
by Russ Allen, Online Trading Academy Instructor
In the last few articles I discussed covered calls (long stock together with short calls). This strategy is a popular income-generating technique. There is a good reasons for this - it works. But no discussion of covered calls would be complete without mentioning that we can do a strategy with the same dollar risk and reward, but with less money out of pocket.
UBS Subsidiary Charged With Disclosure Violations and Other Regulatory Failures in Operating Dark Pool
from the Securities and Exchange Commission
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a subsidiary of UBS with disclosure failures and other securities law violations related to the operation and marketing of its dark pool.
Large Differences In Credit Demand Exist Between Small And Large Business
from the New York Fed
Small businesses are important to the U.S. economy and the well-being of local communities. They employ half of the nation's private sector workers and in recent decades have created two-thirds of net new jobs. Yet, unlike large firms, which rebounded relatively quickly from the Great Recession, the pace of recovery for small firms has been slower and more uneven.
Rail Week Ending 10 January 2015: Increased Rail Traffic to Begin the New Year
Econintersect: Week 1 of 2015 shows same week total rail traffic (from same week one year ago) improved according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR) traffic data. This was a good start to the new year.
Fed's Balance Sheet 14 January 2015 Again At New Record High. Has QE Really Ended?
Total Fed Balance Sheet
Fed'sBalance Sheet week ending balance sheet was $4.476 trillion - up from the record $4.469 trillion for week ending 24 December 2014 and up from the $4.457 trillion for week ending 31 December. Note that on the 29 October 2014, the Federal Reserves governing board (FOMC) stated that .....
Infographic of the Day: Social Media in The Workplace
Blocking social media at work could actually be very bad news for a business.
Switzerland Goes Further into Never-Never Land
Q&A: What Today's Swiss Central Bank Surprise Currency Move May Mean
by Michael Haltman
While not a currency expert, there is little doubt that the Swiss National Bank surprise decision to abandon the 1.20 Swiss franc peg to the euro will have significant financial market and economic implications! What some of these might be are discussed below.
Click for article at Daily Mail with pictures of world's largest assembly of Alpenhorns.
Investing.com Technical Summary 15 January 2014
Investing.com Technical Analysis (as of Thu, 15 January 2015 05:00pm EDT)
by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
Below, technical overviews and analysis for key stock indices, commodities and currency pairs, 
based on market activity at what would have been the close (absent the holiday) of the 15 January 2015 U.S. session. This information is a comprehensive summary derived from simple and exponential moving averages along with key technical indicators shown for specific time intervals.
based on market activity at what would have been the close (absent the holiday) of the 15 January 2015 U.S. session. This information is a comprehensive summary derived from simple and exponential moving averages along with key technical indicators shown for specific time intervals.America's Shale Boom is Not Dead
by Matt Insley, Daily Reckoning
Knowing that simple fact - and bucking the mainstream media oil bash - is our ticket to a few extreme bargains. In fact, you'll have the opportunity to profit from the U.S. oil production for multiple decades. Below I'll give you two of my favorite oil plays, too.
How We Found Scotland's First Jurassic Sea Reptile (and no, She's Not Related to Nessie)
by Stephen Brusatte, The Conversation
My colleagues and I recently had the great privilege to announce a remarkable new discovery: a dolphin-like reptile that prowled the Middle Jurassic waters 170 million years ago.
The World's Most Punctual Airlines
from Felix Richter, Statista.com
by Niall McCarthy
by Niall McCarthy
UK-based aviation data monitors OAG named airBaltic as the world's most punctual airline for 2014.
