Better Trader

The US economy grew by 2.1%

The US economy grew by an annualized 2.1% in Q4, the same as in the previous period and market forecasts of 2.1%, advance estimates showed. The increase in real GDP in the fourth quarter reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE), federal government spending, state and local government spending, residential fixed investment, and exports, that were partly offset by negative contributions from private inventory investment and nonresidential fixed investment.

 

source: tradingeconomics.com

Overbought 34-day BTI

 

When the indicator is above 400 (overbought) the FTSE 100 is near the top. Previous sell signals in January and May 2018 were accurate, the stock market declined. The indicator is now above 400.

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Factors to watch

Latest economic data from the US was soft, this could delay any hike in US interest rates - bullish for stocks

Top 20 Differential is oversold, this indicator measure strength / weakness in the blue chips. When the blue chips are weak they tend to bounce back so it's bullish for stocks.

Bond yields are rising it could be because UK inflation is on the rise. If today's consumer price index is strong, the pound will strengthen and UK stocks could fall. A weak CPI would be bullish for stocks.

Netflix shares soar on bullish outlook.

Factors to watch

The strength of the S&P 500: declines are followed by large retracements

Sentiment is bearish, will the FTSE 100 remain below 6857? Risk of a slide.

Mining stocks: better than expected Chinese manufacturing could push mining stocks higher and this would support the FTSE 100

 

Better Trader, Better Forecast

As I said at the start of 2015, inflation and growth will drop sharply in coming months, the stock market will plunge. Greece was never the real issue, China was. I predicted the bursting of the Chinese stock market bubble and its consequences on Western economies and stock markets.

It's not the first time I have been spot on on the direction of the stock market and the events that will lead to a bear market. Back in April I made a bearish call LIVE at the UK Investor Show, warning investors of a massive correction during the summer. You can watch the video here:

Thierry Laduguie

 

 

When Investors Don't Trust Central Banks

The 13-day BTI is no longer oversold which means the FTSE is not oversold and there is now potential for a large fall. The Chinese stock market is closed today and the FTSE is down in pre-open, this time the influence is coming from Japan where stocks are down 3%. The real influence is more likely to be the global slowdown, when sentiment is bearish, bad news is bad news. So yesterday when Mario Draghi announced that inflation had been downgraded and growth cut, that was the bad news and investors should have sold stocks. Instead they bought. Why? Because Draghi also announced some good news, an increase in quantitative easing to boost growth. Investors focused on the good news and not the bad and that was a mistake. In a period of bearish sentiment you should focus on the bad news, the unexpected rally after 1.30pm was an opportunity to sell.

As I said before, inflation and growth will drop sharply in coming months, the stock market will plunge. I also said that investors will lose confidence in the central banks’ ability to stabilise the markets and the economy. We are seeing this new phenomenon right now. The announcement that the ECB will increase QE has failed to boost the stock market, the FTSE is down this morning. In the next few month or next year expect more of the same behaviour. Central banks and governments will intervene to stop the slide but this time bearish sentiment will be too strong. Bearish sentiment will grow with the slide.

To receive regular analysis and trading signals on the FTSE 100 subscribe to Better Trader

S&P 500 at key resistance

The rebound that follows a third of a third which is the most powerful wave down so far, tend to find resistance around the 38.2% retracement. This level is 1957 which is where the index is in pre-open. For this reason there is an increased probability that the rally will run out of steam.

Why we are long on FTSE 100

Talking about market timing, when you read my indicators you get a good indication of the short term direction of the FTSE 100. Here is an example of a bullish signal:

We went long FTSE 100 on 13th March, this is what I said to my members:

The decline is a fourth wave….The 200-day moving average is at 6689, this level is strong support this is why I expect wave 4 to end near that level….The BTI is up which can be interpreted as bullish…6694 marks the bottom of wave 4 of an ending diagonal [1,2,3,4,5]…The Top 20 Differential is oversold (bullish)…The next target is a 7000 for wave 5.

That was the chart I published:

 

I have re-designed the FTSE 100 short term forecast report, all the indicators are now in a table, see:

 

This gives you a good idea of the short term direction of the FTSE 100. When most indicators are bullish the FTSE 100 has an increased probability of going up. These indicators are very reliable, they have been used for many years and they make money!

But today volatility will be high at 6pm when the FOMC meeting minutes are released, this is an important announcement, so many investors focus on the direction of interest rates. If the statement hints at an early rise in interest rates, the stock market will sell off.

To subscribe to the FTSE short term forecast click here

Until next time

Thierry Laduguie

The "Big Lie" About the U.S. Jobs Picture

The "Big Lie" About the U.S. Jobs Picture
Some 30 million people are either out of work or severely underemployed

By Elliott Wave International

Editor's note: You'll find the text version of the story below the video.

Get Your FREE Special Report: What You Need to Know
NOW About Protecting Yourself from Deflation »

The financial media has recently featured stories with an upbeat outlook for the U.S. economy.

For example: The economy is on track for "the fastest growth in a decade" (Associated Press), and "Experts expect jobs aplenty in '15" (USA Today).

This upbeat tone is related to December's U.S. jobless rate of 5.6%, its lowest since June 2008.

But Jim Clifton, Chairman and CEO of Gallup, offers a different perspective on the jobs data. His February 3 article on Gallup's website was headlined, "The Big Lie: 5.6% Unemployment."

Right now, we're hearing much celebrating from the media, the White House and Wall Street about how unemployment is "down" to 5.6%. The cheerleading for this number is deafening.

None of them will tell you this ... If you are so hopelessly out of work that you've stopped looking over the past four weeks -- the Department of Labor doesn't count you as unemployed. ... Right now, as many as 30 million Americans are either out of work or severely underemployed. ...

If you perform a minimum of one hour of work in a week and are paid at least $20 ... you're not officially counted as unemployed ... .

If you ... are working 10 hours part time because it is all you can find ... the government doesn't count you in the 5.6%.

There's no other way to say this. The official unemployment rate ... amounts to a Big Lie.

A Federal Reserve chart shows that the civilian labor force has been shrinking for 15 years.

The February Elliott Wave Financial Forecast comments:

Why is [the U.S. Labor Force Participation Rate] falling when job growth is rising? The answer, we think, is the emerging force of deflation. Notice that the peak participation rate of 67.3% came from January to March 2000, as the major stock indexes topped, after which inflation first began to falter. When stocks rallied to their 2007 top, there was a mild bounce in the rate, but the latest stock market rally failed to generate any sustained rise in the rate of work force participation. Workers appear so discouraged that the pool of available employees is back to where it was in 1978. The opening chapter of Conquer the Crash ...states, "The persistent deceleration in the U.S. economy is vitally important, because it portends a major reversal from economic expansion to economic contraction."

What will the jobless picture look like at the bottom of an economic contraction?

The third edition of Conquer the Crash published in July 2014 and forecast:

The true unemployment rate in the U.S. and in most countries around the world will rise and eventually exceed 25 percent ... .

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Get Your Special Report: What You Need to Know NOW About Protecting Yourself from Deflation In this free Special Report, you will learn about this unexpected but imminent risk to your portfolio AND you'll get 29 specific forecasts for stocks, real estate, gold, cultural trends -- and more (excerpted from Prechter's New York Times bestseller Conquer the Crash -- You Can Survive and Prosper in a Deflationary Depression). Download your free report now >>

This article was syndicated by Elliott Wave International and was originally published under the headline The "Big Lie" About the U.S. Jobs Picture. EWI is the world's largest market forecasting firm. Its staff of full-time analysts led by Chartered Market Technician Robert Prechter provides 24-hour-a-day market analysis to institutional and private investors around the world.