Global Oil Glut To Build Through 2018, EIA Says

Robert Boslego - INO.com Contributor - Energies


The Energy Information Administration (EIA) published its Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) for January, and for the first time provided its projections for 2018. After all of the hype about the OPEC production cut, it may come as a surprise that the EIA is projecting a rise in global oil inventories in 2017 and 2018.

Specifically, the EIA had estimated that OECD oil stocks ended at 3.101 billion barrels at the end of 2016. It's forecasting them to rise further to 3.127 and 3.158 billion at the end of 2017 and 2018, respectively. The 5-year ending average as of December 2014, before the glut started, was 2.666 billion. Continue reading "Global Oil Glut To Build Through 2018, EIA Says"

Preview Issue #8: Mylan’s Generic EpiPen, Rite Aid Divesture and Allergan Acquisition

INO Health & Biotech Stock Guide

Preview Issue #8 - January 11, 2017

BIOTECH, HEALTH & PHARMA NEWS

Healthcare related stocks and more notably the biotech cohort saw a very tumultuous 2016. As the political backdrop, drug pricing debate and presidential election were thrusted into the spotlight, healthcare related stocks responded erratically to any news that would have a perceived impact on the industry. Now that 2016 it’s in the books, investors can look to 2017 and the new administration under president-elect Donald Trump. Since Donald Trump voiced his concerns over drug pricing, the initial rally in healthcare-related stocks has largely eroded to pre-election levels. Initially, the entire cohort saw significant gains as traders viewed a republican controlled government in positive light with regard to the healthcare sector. Considering the aforementioned factors throughout 2016, the iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (Ticker:IBB) traded in a wide range with pronounced volatility after the presidential election posting a range of ~$240 to $344 or a 104-point gap. The upcoming 2017 year is shaping up to be an eventful one with continued uncertainty with regard to the political climate, governmental stance on mergers and acquisitions, potential deregulation, potential restructuring of the Affordable Care Act and a potentially more favorable tax and repatriation rates throughout the industry.

Continue reading "Preview Issue #8: Mylan’s Generic EpiPen, Rite Aid Divesture and Allergan Acquisition"

Here's Another Fine Mess Obama Will Dump On Trump

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


When the financial and general press get around to giving the departing Obama Administration – now just days away from happening – all the credit for the booming economy to be inherited by Donald Trump, let’s hope they don’t neglect to mention some of the messes Obama has left for the next president to clean up. Besides opening up the jails and Guantanamo, Obama will be leaving Trump with a bunch of other fiascos he created that will take years to fix and billions of taxpayer dollars to remedy.
And no, I’m not talking about Obamacare or the federal debt.

I’m referring to the burgeoning student loan crisis that has yet to reach the implosion point but that will likely happen sooner rather than later. And since it hasn’t yet reached the flash point at which time it must be addressed, that means the bubble will continue to grow until it eventually splatters onto other seemingly unrelated areas, spreading the mess farther and wider beyond anyone’s current expectations.

I call your attention to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s most recent report on student loans. Continue reading "Here's Another Fine Mess Obama Will Dump On Trump"

IBB Looks Ripe For A Turnaround In 2017

Noah Kiedrowski - INO.com Contributor - Biotech


Introduction

Will the confluence of abating political uncertainty, proposed self-regulation on drug price increases, potential merger and acquisition activity and chronically depressed valuations bode well for IBB in 2017? The biotech cohort saw a very tumultuous 2016 to say the least as the political backdrop, drug pricing debate and presidential election took the headlines. Biotech stocks responded erratically to any news that would have a perceived impact on the cohort during this timeframe. Since Donald Trump voiced his concerns over drug pricing, the initial rally in biotech has largely eroded to pre-election levels. The iShares Biotechnology Index ETF (NASDAQ:IBB) traded in a wide range throughout 2016 with pronounced volatility throughout the presidential election cycle registering a range of ~$240 to $344 or a 104-point range (Figure 1). The upcoming 2017 year is shaping up to be an eventful one with continued uncertainty about the political climate, governmental stance on mergers and acquisitions and potential deregulation. Another hot button issue will be the potential restructuring of the Affordable Care Act and proposed favorable tax and repatriation rates. Continue reading "IBB Looks Ripe For A Turnaround In 2017"

Pendulum Experiment No.2: Another Success! Let’s Push It Again!

Aibek Burabayev - INO.com Contributor - Metals


This is the summary of the second experiment that I started in the middle of 2016 where we put the ultimate loser – the stock index of struggling Japanese economy against the top gaining favorite metal – silver.

Chart 1. Voting results July 2016: The Majority Bet Against The Success Of Experiment!

INO.com Poll Silver vs. Nikkei

Above is the result of the voting for these totally different instruments from 6 months ago. This time, congratulations are only to me as an experimenter as I voted for the Nikkei (every time I vote for experiment success, not for an individual instrument) and to another single person (total two votes for the Nikkei), who went against the majority. If you are reading this post please write your name in the comment, let the community meet you.

I think, this time, the majority was ultra-biased and bet on silver. I am afraid to imagine what would be the voting results if gold was the among bets 🙂 Previously, the votes split almost even with a minimal advantage in favor of palladium.

Chart 2. Nikkei Vs. Silver: The Worst Performing Japanese Stock Index Defeated The Top Gaining Metal

Chart 2. Nikkei Vs. Silver
Chart courtesy of tradingview.com

I think we witnessed the maximum divergence at 22% between these two instruments when I posted a snapshot of the experiment last October. But the final outcome is just astonishing! The Nikkei hit above the +20% handle while the silver also hit the 20% mark but with a minus sign. It is easy to calculate that the divergence peaked above the 40% mark. It means that for the past half year those who sold the silver and bought the Nikkei could book more than 40% of the trade in 6 months.

This is the second straight success of an experiment! I think it was lucky to choose that very period of 6 months for an experiment during which the Pendulum Effect of the market has enough time to take action. And another amazing regularity, which is clearly seen on the chart: the maximum divergence of instruments at the end of an experiment.

Let’s push the Pendulum again to have more records for more reliability.

Chart 3. Comparative Histogram Half Year Futures Performance (January 3rd, 2017)

Chart 3. Comparative Histogram Half Year Futures Performance (January 3rd, 2017)
Chart courtesy of finviz.com

It looks like the Nikkei is the futures’ superstar for the past half year as it beat not only silver, but all the rest of the futures and topped the ranking. It transformed from the “complete non-entity” into a “superhero” just in 6 months amid the Bank of Japan’s asset purchases.

Silver finished 3rd from the end of the list and showed the worst performance among metals in the second half of 2016.

It is ridiculous, but we should put them against each other again in a new Pendulum experiment. Please vote at the end of the post for one of these instruments to show me your preference.
I already posted the fresh silver chart last month and this time I will update the Nikkei chart which was posted last October.

Chart 4. Nikkei Weekly: Magic 78.6%

Chart 4. Nikkei Weekly w/Fibonacci
Chart courtesy of tradingview.com

The Nikkei index is in the giant range set by the 2015 top at ¥20953 and the 2016 bottom at ¥14864. This instrument is very good for positioning as it moves actively like a shark, which needs to move steadily to breathe and stay alive.

Last October we witnessed a breakup of the resistance (black), after that we can see that the price continued higher in the direction of the break. Price rocketed ¥17k to ¥19k level, but then it stalled ahead of 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level set at ¥19650 mark. The index has lost more than a half thousand already after reversal. This setback can start another drop down to the broken resistance at least or even lower to the range’s bottom highlighted in-dash red horizontal line. The break above the 78.6% Fibonacci level opens the way to the previous top at ¥20953.The risk/reward ratio favors short entry as resistance is closer than the support.

What do you think will happen in the middle of 2017?

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Intelligent trades!

Aibek Burabayev
INO.com Contributor, Metals

Disclosure: This contributor has no positions in any stocks mentioned in this article. This article is the opinion of the contributor themselves. The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. This contributor is not receiving compensation (other than from INO.com) for their opinion.