Author Archives: Darren Marchal

E

TM Editors’ Note: This article discusses a penny stock and/or microcap. Such stocks are easily manipulated – do your own careful due diligence. LightInTheBox (LITB) is an online sales company from the Chinese cohort of online retailers. This one differs from other Chinese e-commerce companies in that it primarily is targeting foreign online shoppers for…

New Lows For Initial Jobless Claims

It was a big week for initial jobless claims. Versus economist expectations for 230,000, only 215,000 Americans filed initial claims for jobless benefits during the week of March 23rd. That’s a new cycle low and the lowest since the week of January 26, 1973. If claims drop 2,000 per week lower than their current levels,…

Weekly Unemployment Claims: Down 12K, Annual Revisions

Here is the opening statement from the Department of Labor: Note: This week’s release reflects the annual revision to the weekly unemployment claims seasonal adjustment factors. The seasonal adjustment factors used for the UI Weekly Claims data from 2013 forward, along with the resulting seasonally adjusted values for initial claims and continuing claims, have been revised. In…

Consumer Bites The Dust In First Quarter

Real personal income rose 0.2% in February but real spending is flat. For 2018, real spending is negative. The BEA’s Personal Income and Outlays report for February 2018 is negative for first quarter GDP. Disposable Personal Income (DPI) jumped 0.4 percent in February, but real (inflation-adjusted) DPI rose only 0.2%. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) rose 0.2% but…

S&P 500 Index: Support/Resistance Levels

Near-term resistance on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) sits at 2632.91 and support at 2585.68…formed by a one-day moving average (mid-point of candle high/low — input source is hl2) of the February 8 & 9 candles, as shown on the daily chart below. Longer-term Andrew’s Pitchfork channel support converges at this month’s low of 2585.38, as shown on the monthly chart below. So, short and long-term moving…

Major Currency Pairs – Time To Get On The Train

After a sharp post-breakout increase on Monday, we saw even sharper decline during yesterday’s session. Thanks to the currency bears’ attack the euro moved lower against the greenback, which gave the sellers another ally. Will we see EUR/USD under 1.2200 in the coming week? EUR/USD Invalidated Breakout Yesterday, we wrote that currency bears pushed EUR/USD lower…

How Will Intuit Improve Its Growth Rate?

Last month, cloud-based accounting and tax giant Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) reported a strong second quarter that beat analyst estimates. However, its soft outlook is causing analysts to ponder the growth rate question. Intuit’s Financials Founded in 1983, California-based Intuit reported revenue of $5.2 billion in fiscal 2017, growth of 10.3%. It serves 46 million customers…

The Commuter Parking Tax Break

Many employers provide parking to employees who commute to work, which can be viewed as an untaxed fringe benefit of their jobs. The value of this benefit depends on where the parking is located. If the employer is in a uncongested suburban or rural area, where parking is generally free for everyone, then the value…