One Man’s Opinion: Is The Real US Economy More Resilient Than We Realize?

Ulli Market Review Contact

Man

The 10-year US yield is expected to generally move higher throughout the course of this year as yields are down at pretty close to the absolute low-end of the range, said Scott Mather, chief investment officer of US core strategies at PIMCO.

Domestic inflation expectations are likely to start rising as it has hit the low point in terms of energy prices. The impact of low oil prices on the US economy is going to diminish over time. PIMCO also expects to see wage pressures to rise. So putting all those things together, PIMCO expects to see the Fed to move and yields to rise generally this year.

Investors can expect to see many episodes of volatility in the marketplace; PIMCO’s key-message is that investors need to be very careful about mapping the equity market volatility with the real economy. The real economy is probably a lot more resilient than many realize, he noted.

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New ETFs On The Block: First Trust Heitman Global Prime Real Estate ETF (PRME)

Ulli REITs Contact

91551519First Trust Advisors, the Illinois based sixth-largest US issuer of exchange-traded funds, expanded its lineup of actively-managed funds recently by offering a different spin on the traditional real estate ETF.

The First Trust Heitman Global Prime Real Estate ETF (PRME) aims to provide targeted exposure to investors in American and international prime real estate securities by investing in the equities of publicly-traded companies that own top tier, prime properties in the world’s leading cities.

The actively managed fund seeks out only the finest properties in high-value markets and seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80 percent of its net assets (including borrowings) in securities issued by real estate investment trusts (REITs), real estate operating companies (REOCs) and common stocks or depositary receipts of companies primarily engaged in the real estate industry.

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ETF/No Load Fund Tracker Newsletter For January 15, 2016

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ETF/No Load Fund Tracker StatSheet

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THE LINK TO OUR CURRENT ETF/MUTUAL FUND STATSHEET IS:

https://theetfbully.com/2016/01/weekly-statsheet-for-the-etfno-load-fund-tracker-newsletter-updated-through-01142016/

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Market Commentary

IF IT WALKS LIKE A BEAR AND GROWLS LIKE A BEAR…

Fri pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the Markets

You could call it a Black Friday as Wall Street was saturated in red and bleeding profusely with the S&P 500 dropping to its lowest since October and temporarily piercing that low but closing above it. If that level gets taken out, much lower prices are in the cards with some technicians seeing the next support level at about 1,750. For the first two trading weeks of the year, the S&P 500 has now surrendered almost 8%.

It turned out that my guess about yesterday having been a dead cat bounce was spot on with oil taking a “crude” toll on equities as the black gold sank below the $30/barrel for first time in over a decade. Adding to the misery were continued fears about economic woes in China.

It looks to be a very long weekend for those who remain invested in equities. Of course, there is certainly a chance that some of the Fed governors could come out and try to jawbone the markets back up but, short of Fed Chair Yellen renouncing the recent interest hike and promising lower rather than higher rates, I don’t see a resumption of the old bull market at this time except temporarily in form of dead cat bounce.

All of our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight got spanked again as the bear market deepened. Showing the worst loss today was the Global 100 (IOO) with -2.99%. There were no winners, but the Select Dividend ETF (DVY) and Healthcare (XLV) managed more modest losses with each giving back -1.40% for the day.

We remain on the sidelines and watching this bear market debacle unfold. You can see the exact numbers in section 3 below.

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Weekly StatSheet For The ETF/No Load Fund Tracker Newsletter – Updated Through 01/14/2016

Ulli ETF StatSheet Contact

ETF/Mutual Fund Data updated through Thursday, January 14, 2016

TOC010716

If you are not familiar with some of the terminology used, please see the Glossary of Terms.

 

1. DOMESTIC EQUITY MUTUAL FUNDS/ETFs: SELL — since 11/13/2015

TTI

Our main directional indicator, the Domestic Trend Tracking Index (TTI-green line in above chart) has recently crawled above its long term trend line (red) and finally generated a new “Buy” signal effective 11/3/15. The market subsequently dropped, and we exited again on 11/13/15. As of today, the TTI remains below its trend line by -3.01%, which means we are in cash on the sidelines.

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Stability Returns; Or Is It A Dead Cat Bounce?

Ulli Market Commentary Contact

Thur pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the Markets

After an early, rough start Thursday, stocks finally shot higher with the Dow jumping more than 300 points before moderating its gains after Wednesday’s brutal sell-off that sent the broad U.S. stock market down more than 10% from its highs. Of course, the indexes were oversold, so a bounce back had to happen sooner or later, but the question remains if this is simply another dead cat bounce or the resumption of the prior bullish trend. Since no one has that answer, we will have to wait and see how it plays out.

In the meantime, Wall Street is gearing up for an onslaught of fourth-quarter 2015 earnings reports in coming weeks. And even though analysts are expecting a second-straight quarter of contracting earnings growth, there is hope that the earning season will ease fears about the U.S. economy amid the current global growth fears.

Before the opening bell, Wall Street got a better-than-expected earnings report from JPMorgan Chase (JPM). The big bank topped both profit and revenue expectations.

Wall Street was also closely watching oil prices again today, which were mostly trading in the black. A barrel of U.S.-produced crude was up 1.67% to close at $31.56. A drop below $30 a barrel earlier this week spooked investors, prompting many Wall Street firms to lower their price projections for crude. A 2% rise in stocks in mainland China’s Shanghai composite index also helped boost sentiment today.

All of our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight joined the rebound party and closed in the green headed by Healthcare (XLV) with +2.68%. Consumer Staples (XLP) was lagging with +0.47%.

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Equities Get Crushed As The Bear Is Alive And Well

Ulli Market Commentary Contact

Wed pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the Markets

Intense selling returned to Wall Street in afternoon trading Wednesday, pushing the Dow down 365 points and slicing 3.4% off of the tech-packed Nasdaq, dashing hopes for a third straight day of gains on Wall Street and extending the financial pain in what has been a horrific start to the year.

Earlier in the day, it appeared the market math was basic Arithmetic 101: Better data from China plus higher oil prices equals higher stock prices. But that investment thesis gave way later to fears of a global recession and the decision of investors to pare back risk and sell stocks confirming that the bearish trend is in full force.

We heard some disappointing news from GoPro (GPRO) today. The company said it only expects to post revenue of $435 million during the fourth quarter, missing analysts forecasts calling for revenue of $508 million by 14%. The company blamed lower than anticipated sales of its capture devices due to slower than expected sell through at retailers. They also announced it would cut 7% of its workforce of more than 1,500 employees as of the end of 2015. GoPro is one of the most severe examples of the recent crop of over-hyped technology companies selling hardware and winning a huge valuation with investors. The dose of reality seems to be spreading.

All of our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight shifted into reverse and got spanked as the bears took charge. Getting downright clobbered was Consumer Discretionaries (XLY) with -3.37%. Resisting the mauling the best were the Select Dividend ETF (DVY) and the Low Volatility ETF (SPLV) which each gave back -1.50%.

This is the time for preservation of capital, and we continue to stay on the sidelines.

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