Tag: Brian Booth

Each Week Longleaftrading.com will be providing us a chart of the week as analyzed by a member of their team. We hope that you enjoy and learn from this new feature.

Weekly Gold Report (January 21 through January 25)

As we begin this abbreviated week, U.S. markets continue to be the focal point as traders try to plan ahead for a continuation of reported earnings. Additionally, there is expectation that House Republicans are planning to punt the U.S. debt ceiling decision by three months if a few of their demands are also met as a compromise. Overall, I believe most traders (myself included) were delighted to see stability this morning as we won’t soon forget the MLK Day chaos from five years ago, when equities saw unwinding of a massive futures position held by a trader at SocGen. While we all welcome volatility, we also appreciate it in smaller doses!

The bulk of the earnings this week fall in the S&P 500 as just shy of one hundred companies in the index report earnings. Thus far, earnings have been decent as indicated by several closes last week above the prior September chart highs. Be sure to keep an eye on Apple as they report on Wednesday. Despite the fact that it has been on a recent slide, it still commands attention as it hovers the $500 mark. Continue reading "Gold Chart of The Week" →

Each Week Longleaftrading.com will be providing us a chart of the week as analyzed by a member of their team. We hope that you enjoy and learn from this new feature.

Weekly Gold Report (January 14 through January 18)

Week two of 2013 is behind us and as we look ahead to week three, the US earnings reports are on the front burner. This week, a few major US banks and heavy hitters like General Electric and Intel will report earnings and share their thoughts on potential growth. The sentiment of major corporations in the United States will be key again this year as they contemplate investing funds that were sidelined last year, due to political and economic uncertainty. Stock indexes seem to be pricing in favorable news as they climbed above the prior chart highs from September. The tricky part of the first earnings report of this year is the fact that movement in either direction will have to consider the upcoming debate in Washington surrounding the second half of the Fiscal Cliff, and whether the government can find common ground on taxes and spending. Continue reading "Gold Chart of The Week" →

Each Week Longleaftrading.com will be providing us a chart of the week as analyzed by a member of their team. We hope that you enjoy and learn from this new feature.

Weekly Gold Report (January 7^th through January 11^th)

Welcome everyone to trading in 2013, where not much has changed from last year. While we are only a few days into the New Year, traders are already expecting the same type of market activity to continue for at least the next two months. Why two months? Because only a portion of the much anticipated “Fiscal Cliff” negotiations were completed at the end of 2012, so the saga will continue.

Politicians in the US knew for over ten years that they were expected to make a monumental decision by the end of the year in 2012 regarding taxes and spending, and in the eleventh hour a final decision was made to raise taxes and “kick the can” on spending for another two months. The idea was to come up with something fair and balanced, but it wound up being a  one-sided victory for one party. Despite the delay on fifty percent of the decision, it was enough to avoid a broad based panic sell.

All markets, including Gold will have to not only price in everyday news, they will also have the upcoming taxes vs. spending debate to consider. Overall, it is nothing new. Continue reading "Gold Chart of the Week" →

Each week Longleaftrading.com will be providing us a chart of the week as analyzed by a member of their team. We hope that you enjoy and learn from this new feature.

Weekly Gold Report (December 24 through December 28^th)

What a week in the Precious Metals! While the drop in Gold and Silver caught me off guard, I suppose I was not totally surprised. Every year around this time, global markets get thin and it leaves price action vulnerable to unexpected, directional movement.

There were a few factors outside of light volume that may have played a role in the drop. First of all, Washington continues to overpromise and underperform on their Fiscal Cliff negotiations. One of the main points that will remain in limbo without a compromise is taxes. I believe that a large part of the selloff in the Metals was due to traders and investors continuing to book gains on long positions ahead of a potential tax hike next year. Furthermore, these drops invite new sellers to the market that are hoping for a larger scale setback. Second, it was rumored that a large position in the Metals was adjusted after Morgan Stanley decided to drop Paulson and his Metals based investment strategies. Continue reading "Gold Chart of the Week" →