A roundup of what The Globe and Mail's market strategist Scott Barlow is reading today on the Web
A Bloomberg report highlights long-term technical analysis to suggest that the bull market in bonds that has seen yields fall to historically low levels could be at an end,
"The yearly MACD chart -- moving average convergence and divergence -- for 10-year Treasury yields is getting very close to crossing the nine-year signal line. The two have met just once before, back in 1986 when the MACD's slide below the signal indicated momentum was there for the sort of declines in yield that the current long-term bond rally has delivered. If the two cross in the other direction it would indicate the potential for sustained increases in yields."
I will believe it when I see it – higher yields have been predicted annually since 2010 – but when it happens it will be bad news for income and dividend investors.
"The Great Bond Bull Market May Be Coming to an End" – Bloomberg
"Centuries of Data Forewarn of Rapid Reversal From Low Interest Rates" – Bloomberg
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Natural gas prices headed sharply lower Tuesday morning.
Insiders inform me that it was likely one big order placed in the early hours when liquidity was light. An entertaining explanation was provided by trader Helene Meisler who found an interest way to blame warmer fall weather,
"The natty traders in nyc don't need a coat to have a smoke yet. that's all you need to know"
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Chipmaker NIVDIA Corp continues to rocker higher (full disclosure: a close family member now owns the stock, but not on my recommendation) as a virtual benchmark for the development of Artificial Intelligence. The M.I.T. Technology Review, however, reports that rivals Intel and AMD are combining forces to chip away at NVIDIA's dominant market position,
"Intel and AMD Team Up to Take On Nvidia's AI Chip Dominance" – M.I.T. Tech Review
"'The smartest company in the world': Why this stock could be a solid bet for future riches" – Barlow, Inside the Market (July 12, 2017)
"Stephen Hawking says A.I. could be 'worst event in the history of our civilization'" – CNBC
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Video game stocks continue to perform like they're printing money,
"Activision Blizzard's (NASDAQ:ATVI) earnings beats are becoming a broken record at this point, and that's a good thing for investors. In the third quarter, reported this week, the company once again easily surpassed its own revenue and earnings guidance on broad strength in the video game business. The strength comes ahead of the highly anticipated release of Call of Duty: WWII and Overwatch League's launch early in 2018."
"Activision Blizzard, Inc's Streak of Incredible Earnings Continues" – Motley Fool
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Tweet of the day: "@DegenRolf "A high cognitive ability does not inoculate people against irrational beliefs in and of itself." sciencedirect.com/science/articl… ' – Twitter
Diversion: "Longing for the divisible within the invisible" – Garcia, FT Alphaville
Scott Barlow