What is Technical Analysis? In its simplest form, technical analysis is the study of price. Of course, you can climb deeper than that but for now, we'll stick with the study of price. From trendlines to stochastics, oscillators, and other measures of trading activity, technical analysis focuses on patterns of price movements and other charting […]

Here we go again…  Fresh regional bank headlines crossed the wire at 7:40 this morning, as PacWest Bancorp (PACW) shares dropped 20% in the pre-market trading session.   The headlines meshed well with others from earlier in the week that implied that all of the banks – that's right ALL – are seeing a draw on […]

Well, the markets are grinding their way through hump day with some volatility despite the CPI report delivering some good news ahead of the market open. This has some traders asking "Why?" – but we already know one of the main reasons… This market lacks confidence and remains risk averse… Sure, the Nasdaq 100 and […]

A week or so ago, I ordered a package on Amazon.  Don't worry, this isn't me patting myself on the back for something seemingly everyone does every day.  But bear with me, because this story definitely paints a broader picture.  When I ordered it, I received word that it "will arrive Wednesday."   By Wednesday morning, […]

That air you heard coming out of the banking sector on Monday was partially due to a little-read report (until things get interesting) from the Fed.  It's called the Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on bank lending practices – or the "SLOOS Report." (For what It's worth I really like saying "sloos." You should try […]

You know I consume the news like Joey Chestnut on Coney Island. Well, this one stopped me in my tracks… Now, the full quote is, "It's widely agreed that financial and economic chaos will ensue." This calls for a quick walk down memory lane… One of the first things I learned when I came into […]

Traders jumped right in to buy the regional banks late in the trading week, as they sensed a short-term bottom may be in place. I'll put it to you that we're just seeing a new "Standing Eight Count" on this sector, as the long-term risks are still not priced into the market.  From the bulls' […]

Just yesterday – I mean, literally, just yesterday – I warned you there was a volatility storm brewing in the markets. Now, one day doesn't make for a trend, but volatility storms are usually triggered by conditions very similar to what we saw just a few months ago.  The S&P 500 breadth continues to wane […]

If you missed it Wednesday morning, I talked about how my "Walk Down Main Street" approach has pinpointed the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) and its constituent stocks as one of the most critical segments of the market at this moment. Here's why… The small-cap sector is the heart of the market. Sure, large-cap tech […]

The FOMC decision came this afternoon, but who are we kidding, it's been made for a while. And for what it's worth, the market has already priced in that decision – to raise rates another 0.25% and hold out for the "data" to give them a better view.  Given that, I really don't care much […]