Author Archives: Darren Marchal

McDonalds Implodes, Reports Worst U.S. Sales In Over A Decade

If one ignores all traditional, staple indicators of a growing economy, such as stable (not plummeting) crude demand, stable (not plummeting) holiday spending and stable (not plummeting) McDonalds (MCD) comp store sales, then indeed the U.S. economy has “decoupled” from the rest of the world, and those who wish to demonstrate the same intellectual capacity…

OPEC ETFs Crushed By Oil Crash: What Next?

Among various other reasons, the oil crash probably traumatized the global economy the most in the second half of this year. Sluggish demand thanks to a soft macroeconomic backdrop in some developed regions including the Euro zone and China, booming oil production resulting in abundant supply, price war induced by OPEC nations and a strengthening…

Economic Outlook 2015, Part 1: Lagging Indicators Show Growth In

It’s the time of the year to reflect on the direction of the economy. For the past several years I have examined each individual component of The Conference Board’s Lagging, Coincident and Leading Economic Indicators and created my own diffusion index by ranking each indicator -1, 0 or +1. I have found that this method produces accurate forecasts…

Macro-Markets Risk Index Stabilizes After October’s Slide

The U.S. economic trend remains positive and stable after recovering from October’s sharp but brief stumble, according to a markets-based estimate of macro conditions. The Macro-Markets Risk Index (MMRI) closed at +8.5% on Friday (Dec. 5). The index is near the level that prevailed just ahead of its mid-October tumble. The benchmark’s persistence above zero…