Category: INO.com Contributors

Weekly Futures Recap With Mike Seery

Posted on by The INO.com Team

We've asked Michael Seery of SEERYFUTURES.COM to give our INO readers a weekly recap of the Futures market. He has been Senior Analyst for close to 15 years and has extensive knowledge of all of the commodity and option markets.

Michael frequently appears on multiple business networks including Bloomberg news, Fox Business, CNBC Worldwide, CNN Business, and Bloomberg TV. He is also a guest on First Business, which is a national and internationally syndicated business show.

Crude Oil Futures

Crude oil futures in the September contract settled last Friday in New York at 41.60 a barrel while currently trading at 41.10 basically unchanged for the trading week as I’ve been sitting on the sidelines in this market for quite some time as prices are right near a 4 month low. Prices have dropped about $10 over the last 2 months as massive supplies continue to hamper prices as I still think a bottom has not been created and if you are short this market my stop loss would be above the 10 day high which stands at 43.39 as prices are still trading below its 20 and 100-day moving average telling you that the short-term trend is lower. At present I have very few trade recommendations as I took the month of July off, but I am keeping a close eye on many different sectors as I think we will be involved in many trades very soon. The trend is lower and as the commodity trader I always believe that must be a trend follower as trading with path of least resistance is the most successful way to trade over the course of time. Continue reading "Weekly Futures Recap With Mike Seery" →

Will We See The Fed In September?

Posted on by George Yacik

George Yacik - INO.com Contributor - Fed & Interest Rates


It took less than two days last week for the financial markets to disabuse themselves of the notion that the Federal Reserve, this time, is really, truly, absolutely kind of serious about raising interest rates at its next meeting in September.

On Wednesday afternoon the Fed, as expected, left interest rates unchanged for the fifth straight monetary policy meeting since first raising rates last December, which was supposed to usher in a gradual process of rate “normalization” this year. As we know, of course, the Fed hasn’t followed through on that, finding one justification after another – rising oil prices, falling oil prices, weak Chinese economic growth, weak U.S. economic growth, Brexit, you name it – to delay the day of reckoning.

In last week’s post-meeting announcement, the Fed dropped several hints that might cause some people, even reasonable ones, to conclude that a rate increase might be in the offing at its next meeting in September. Continue reading "Will We See The Fed In September?" →

Italy Overtakes Spain As Weakest Link

Posted on by Lior Alkalay

Lior Alkalay - INO.com Contributor - Forex


Among the big four Eurozone economies, i.e. Germany, France, Spain and Italy, it’s clear which two are the growth drivers. Of the others, that is Spain and Italy; Italy was considered to be the more stable. Spain’s bonds were deemed riskier and its banking sector weaker. But that is a thing of the past. As it stands today, Italy has overtaken Spain to become the weakest link among the Eurozone’s largest economies, with a banking sector desperately in need of a bailout. And if Italy’s banking crisis is a rerun of Spain’s, we can certainly expect some troubles in the Eurozone and, consequently, for the Euro.

Spain vs. Italy in Two Charts

When we compare data on the Italian economy vs. the Spanish economy, we can see an interesting picture emerging. When we examine the trend in bankruptcies filed for both economies, it’s clear that both countries had relatively the same trend in bankruptcies until very recently. Bankruptcies in Italy have started to surge while bankruptcies in Spain have been decreasing.

Spain vs. Italy Bankruptcies
Chart courtesy of Tradingeconomics

In the bond markets of the two countries, a clear divergence is occurring. Credit Default Swaps for Spain and Italy, which had moved in tandem in the past (with higher risk premiums for Spain), started to diverge back in 2014. Credit Default Swaps for Italy are now much higher. Continue reading "Italy Overtakes Spain As Weakest Link" →

The Hot Utilities Sector Needs Risk Management

Posted on by Robert Boslego

Robert Boslego - INO.com Contributor - Energies


Because the yield in fixed income has remained so low for so long due to the Federal Reserve maintaining low interest rates, investors have transitioned to utilities because they want dividend yields. As a sector, utilities are up 21.96% year-to-date, 24.7% over the past year and provided an average return of 15.78% per year over the past three years.

Graph of XLU Prices

To participate, the exchange-traded fund (ETF) Utility Select Sector SPDR ETF (PACF:XLU), tracks the price and yield of the Utilities Select Sector Index. The largest holdings of XLU are as follows: Continue reading "The Hot Utilities Sector Needs Risk Management" →

FX Volatility To Pick Up With Growth

Posted on by Lior Alkalay

Lior Alkalay - INO.com Contributor - Forex


Despite the Federal Open Market Committee voting last week to maintain all of the Federal Reserve’s current rates, some market experts — including this one — are projecting that a rate hike is coming soon, and the Foreign Exchange market could see significant volatility because of it.

Indeed, as we suspected back on July 1, the Federal Reserve, in its release about the policy meeting held July 26-27, signaled that headwinds from Brexit are waning and pointed to diminishing near-term risks. But what does that mean, in practical terms? It means that the Fed is back in business: delivering mildly hawkish rhetoric, while preparing for the next rate hike. Continue reading "FX Volatility To Pick Up With Growth" →