The Oil Service Companies Continue To Decline

For the oilfield services industry, it’s no longer about merely navigating a downturn. It’s now about survival.

The service companies that handed out discounts in the downturn are barely holding on. Schlumberger Ltd. and Halliburton Co., the two biggest, have each fallen by more than 65% since crude started tumbling, and Weatherford International Plc on Monday filed for bankruptcy. Contrast that with the oil producers, collectively down less than 50%.

The gear glut is taking a toll as service companies are jockeying to defend their share of an increasingly lean market. The prices charged by service companies are at their lowest levels since September 2016, with more companies dropping prices than raising them, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. The servicer price index hasn’t risen for at least a year, the bank’s quarterly surveys show.

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As shale drilling technology and efficiency gains continue to improve each year, the break even point continues to go down for the shale productions. The latest break even point figure is near $50 now. But just because the break even point has declined, doesn’t necessary mean more profits. Although oil prices are higher relative to previous years.

The oil sector relative to the equity markets continue to decline, which means the break even point must continue to come down in order for companies to have a chance of survival.

And since the oil services company exist because of the oil production companies, it only makes sense that they are fighting for their lives as well.

VanEck Vectors® Oil Services ETF (OIH®) seeks to track the overall performance of U.S.-listed companies involved in oil services to the upstream oil sector, which include oil equipment, oil services, or oil drilling. The chart suggest OIH is headed lower over time.

This post is my personal opinion. I’m not a financial advisor, this isn’t financial advise. Do your own research before making investment decisions.

I’m Not A Fan Of The Banks

It’s been easy to hate banks as investments — not only were some of the biggest players bailed out by taxpayers in 2008, but bank stocks and the financial sector more generally have underperformed the broader market for years.

But over the past three months, the financial sector has turned from laggard to leader, rising 5.9%, versus a 3.5% advance for the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.77% , making it the best-performing S&P sector since the start of April, according to FactSet. From the beginning of 2018 through March of this year, the S&P 500 had risen 6%, versus a 7.9% decline for the financial sector.

Within the broader financial sector, Opppenheimer analyst Chris Kotowski is particularly bullish on large banks, writing in a note to clients that “the breadth, stability and quality of [large banks’] earnings has never been better,” even if the market has shown much greater love to other sectors during the current bull market.

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I’m not a fan of the banks. I should say, I’m no longer a fan of banks. Earlier in 2018 I went long, the ETF, XLF.

The Financial Select Sector SPDR® Fund, XLF seeks to provide precise exposure to  companies in the  diversified financial services; insurance; banks; capital markets; mortgage real estate investment trusts (“REITs”); consumer finance; and thrifts and mortgage finance industries. 

But I got out when I saw the banks were not taking advantage of rising interest rates. Banks make loans to borrowers at a higher rate than non-performing assets such as savings accounts and CDs and profit from the difference. However, in an environment in which the yield curve is flattening, Banks’ margins are adversely affected. 

NOTE: When interest rates rise or fall, it’s the short term interest rates that are moving the most. When a Bank issues loans, they are issuing longer term interests rate loans. As short term interest rates rise, Bank margins come under pressure, which affects their profitability.

So even if price breaches the the weekly supply at $28.

XLF has been range bound since mid-2017, so it’s dead money…take your money and invests elsewhere.

This post is my personal opinion. I’m not a financial advisor, this isn’t financial advise. Do your own research before making investment decisions.

How Did Royal Caribbean Cruises Make The List???

With the S&P 500 up more than 19% already this year, investors are scrambling to find the next big winners. According to Wall Street analysts, these stocks could have the most room to run.

CNBC used FactSet to screen the stocks with the highest average 12-month price targets by analysts. To find the names with the highest conviction from Wall Street, CNBC winnowed down the pool by selecting the stocks whose forecast has only gone up in the past three months. Stocks that have fallen in the past three months were also excluded.

To be sure, consensus analyst opinion doesn’t always work and some investors even use it as a contrarian indicator. However, the list gives you an idea of the stocks analysts are most bullish about in meetings with clients.

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The company that sparked my interests on the list was Royal Caribbean Cruises because it’s on my long term bear list.

This consumer confidence indicator provides an indication of future developments of households’ consumption and saving, based upon answers regarding their expected financial situation, their sentiment about the general economic situation, unemployment and capability of savings.

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If consumer confidence is turning for the worst, discretionary spending will decline. If discretionary spending declines, so will Royal Caribbean Cruises’ revenue. If Royal Caribbean Cruises’ revenue decline, so will its stock price.

The chart suggests if price can close below $112, price will go to $83 over time.

This post is my personal opinion. I’m not a financial advisor, this isn’t financial advise. Do your own research before making investment decisions.

Public Storage Might Be Reversing Soon

Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) is the undisputed leader in the self-storage industry, and the stock had been quite a market laggard until recently. However, tides have turned, and Public Storage is now up 18% in 2019. Is it still a good buy, or has it become too expensive?

Public Storage has previously said that it can break even with about 30% occupancy in its properties, and its occupancy rate is currently 92.5%. That’s a big margin of safety.

Public Storage also has a rock-solid balance sheet. Most real estate investment trusts use a considerable level of debt to fund their operations — debt in the 30%-40% of total capitalization range is common. Well, Public Storage has just about 3.2% (not a typo) of its capitalization in the form of debt.

Over the years, Public Storage has built up a great dividend track record. Since 2002, the company’s dividend has grown at a 9.8% annualized rate, and the current 3.4% yield is well covered by Public Storage’s earnings.

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Some of the risks include if long-term interest rates are rising, an overabundance of self-storage facilities and the sector being cyclical because of their month to month leases.  But overall, it appears the pros far vastly outweigh the cons. However, the chart suggests the upside opportunity is limited due to the weekly supply at $254.

This post is my personal opinion. I’m not a financial advisor, this isn’t financial advise. Do your own research before making investment decisions.

The Apple Price Level To Really Pay Attention To

Apple shares raced into July.

The stock surged 2% on Monday, adding to a nearly 30% advance for the year, after a pause on additional tariffs between the U.S. and China reignited hopes of trade progress.

Apple would need to reach at least $210 to break out above the upper band of its symmetrical triangle pattern. That marks a roughly 4% rally from its current level at less than $202.

“However, the more important level is going to be the early May highs. That’s up right around $212. You break above that, not only will you get a break of the triangle pattern, but you’ll have a nice higher low, higher high sequence which should give this stock another leg higher,” said Maley.

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But the real level to watch is the weekly supply at $222, because of the previous sellers at $215, the weekly supply at $222 is just below the monthly supply and the unfilled sell orders waiting near $222. 

This post is my personal opinion. I’m not a financial advisor, this isn’t financial advise. Do your own research before making investment decisions.

Crude Oil Analysis Report 7-3-19…Where To Next For Oil???

Oil had its worst reaction to an OPEC meeting in more than four years, with prices sliding just after the cartel agreed to prolong production curbs as fears about the global economy mount.  Futures closed down 4.8% in New York, the steepest decline since May 31 and the biggest drop after an OPEC gathering since November 2014.

Saudi Arabia said it would keep its output below 10 million barrels a day, even lower than required under the so-called OPEC+ deal. Yet Russia, the other de facto leader of the group, questioned a Saudi proposal to use the average of 2010 to 2014 global oil inventories to set future production targets.

The OPEC pact leaves the door open for U.S. shale producers to grab more market share, as the group will have to cut deeper to achieve inventory targets, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

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So there was demand at $57.25,

but the reason that demand failed was because the buyers couldn’t take out and close above the most recent supply.

The chart suggests price is headed lower…to levels that I will be watching is the $53.80 level and the $51.96 level.

This post is my personal opinion. I’m not a financial advisor, this isn’t financial advise. Do your own research before making investment decisions.

Tesla’s Deliveries Beat Expectations

Tesla Inc beat expectations for deliveries of its Model 3 sedan in the second quarter, a performance that could ease concerns about demand for the new electric sedan.

Musk is struggling to convince investors that demand remains high for Tesla cars and that it can be delivered efficiently and swiftly to customers around the world.

Tesla has been trying to make up for a difficult first quarter, in which deliveries plunged and the company lost $702 million.

The company said earlier this year it would turn a profit in the second half of 2019, a delay from earlier projections. The company has said it will deliver 360,000 to 400,000 vehicles in 2019, a goal many analysts predict will be difficult to meet.

Overall, total production rose 13% to 87,048 vehicles compared to the first quarter. The company churned out 72,531 Model 3s in the second quarter, up from a total of 62,950 Model 3s in the preceding quarter.

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Tesla has many doubters on Wall Street who would love to see the company fail. This is no more apparent then short interest around $10 billion or about 30 million shares shorted (25% of float) making it one of the most shorted stocks in the U.S. market and once upon a time, the most shorted stock in U.S. Market history.

However, Elon has one this battle as I anticipate a spike in price at the open as some short sellers cover their position and will have to buy the stock back.

The chart suggests price will higher to the short term target at $260.

This post is my personal opinion. I’m not a financial advisor, this isn’t financial advise. Do your own research before making investment decisions.

Currency Analysis Report 7/2/19 – Aussie Dollar Trying To Make Money Moves

Australia’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Tuesday to a record low of 1% in a bid to boost the economy.

The cut is the second in consecutive months. Previously the Reserve Bank of Australia had not shifted the rate in almost three years.

The outlook for the global economy remained reasonable. But uncertainty generated by the trade and technology disputes was affecting investment and meant that the risks to the global economy were tilted to the downside, Lowe said.

The changes were widely expected after Lowe said in May that inflation was likely to remain below the bank’s target range of 2% to 3% a year and that a decrease in the cash rate would likely be appropriate.

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I was expecting the Aussie Dollar to decline and continue to decline, but it didn’t.

This was the same thing that happened last month, the Aussie Dollar rose when they cut rates in June, but the Aussie Dollar rose on the news. I know first hand because I was stopped out on two of my AUD short positions.

What’s interesting right now is the Aussie Dollar formed a double bottom or what I call a “W” pattern.

Thus, I will be monitoring to see if the daily demand at 0.6960 will hold to confirm the “W” pattern.

This post is my personal opinion. I’m not a financial advisor, this isn’t financial advise. Do your own research before making investment decisions.

Can Nvidia Get Back To $200 This Year???

Nvidia (NVDA – Get Report) has been going through a volatile time over the last nine months. Can the company find some better rhythm in the second half and help give its stock a boost?

Long-time investors are hopeful that it can. Monday’s price action helps, with news of a de-escalating trade war giving investors hope that a deal can be reached in the future.

These gains come on the first trading day of the second half of 2019, giving the stock a good start to the third quarter. Nvidia stock is up about 3% to $167 on the day, although it was up more than 5% at one point in morning trade.

While analysts expect a year-over-year decline for both earnings and revenue this year, investors will be focusing to see whether growth is on track to return next year. That will have a big impact on whether the stock can get back above and stay above $200, or if the lows may be probed once more.

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Backing October, price broke the upward trend line.

Major weekly zones are far from price currently.

Thus, the currently level in play now are the $190 and the $130 levels.

However, the fact that price couldn’t make a lower low and the fact that the weekly supply is above $200, strengthen the case that price has a good possibility of getting back to $200 by year end.

This post is my personal opinion. I’m not a financial advisor, this isn’t financial advise. Do your own research before making investment decisions.

Forex $1 MM Challenge – Trade #17 (7-1-19) Sold CAD/JPY

The yuan gained and the
safe-haven yen slid against the dollar on Monday as appetite for risk-sensitive
currencies improved after the United States and China agreed to restart their
troubled trade talks.

Although the Canadian
markets closed for Canada Day the continued comments from Iran suggests that
they are unlikely to back down, so if the oil continues to rise, downside on
the Canadian dollar should be limited.

On the news, the CAD/JPY spiked higher, but higher into a daily supply zone.

Monthly Chart (Curve Time Frame) – monthly supply is at 0.05600 and monthly demand is at 0.04600.

Weekly Chart (Trend Time Frame) – the trend is down.

Daily Chart (Entry Time Frame) – the chart suggests to short price at the daily supply at 78.000

This post is my personal opinion. I’m not a financial advisor, this isn’t financial advise. Do your own research before making investment decisions.

This post is my personal opinion. I’m not a financial advisor, this isn’t financial advise. Do your own research before making investment decisions.