Consumer
Don’s Notebook May 23, 2018

Don’s Notebook May 23, 2018

New homes have been one of the strongest areas of the economy, however today's April New Homes Sales Report is expected to show a decrease from the March total. A related announcement from the Mortgage Bankers' Association already out is that purchase applications for...

Don’s Notebook May 9, 2018

Don’s Notebook May 9, 2018

Don’s Notebook May 9, 2018 Producer prices open three straight days of inflation data. Today’s announcement, the Producer Price Index (PPI) of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a family of indexes that measures the average change over time in the prices received...

Don’s Notebook May 4, 2018

Don’s Notebook May 4, 2018

Payrolls rose 164,000 after an upwardly revised 135,000 advance,  according to the Labor Department data announced earlier today. The jobless rate fell to 3.9 percent, the lowest since December 2000, after six months at 4.1 percent. Average hourly earnings increased...

Don’s Notebook May 3, 2018

Don’s Notebook May 3, 2018

Don’s Notebook May 3, 2018 March looks to have been a very good month for the trade balance, the month when tariffs and trade wars first hit the news. The trade deficit fell in March to $49.0 billion with the Chinese deficit, narrowing to $25.9 billion from February's...

Don’s Notebook May 1, 2018

Don’s Notebook May 1, 2018

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM report) came in lower than Street consensus at 57.3 (vs. estimates of 57.5-60.) This survey asks purchasing managers about the general direction of production, new orders, order backlogs, their own inventories, customer...

Bulls Return to Gaming Space: Options Recap

Bulls Return to Gaming Space: Options Recap

Two weeks ago, a options traders were bullish in a slot-machine maker. Yesterday, a similar transaction lit up a race-track and casino operator. Traders bought 6,000 June 31 calls in Penn National Gaming (PENN) for $1.25 in the middle of the afternoon. A block of...

How the bulls are chasing Fox: Options activity

How the bulls are chasing Fox: Options activity

If you've ever wondered about bulls chasing a Fox, look no further than the activity yesterday's options market. And no, we're not talking about a rerun of Downton Abbey. We're talking about the big spike of options activity in media conglomerate Twenty-First Century...

Don’s Notebook March 27, 2018

Don’s Notebook March 27, 2018

Case-Shiller data are likely to highlight the strength of home appreciation, which is a less publicized factor behind what have been robust levels of consumer confidence. The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index tracks monthly changes in the value of...