The “soft” data seems to be wining the day – and it is making Bank of America Merrill Lynch Credit Strategist Hans Mikkelsen “feel good.” But there is also hard data that is turning heads of analysts — a topic that was part of a political debate. Consumer Confidence highest since just before the 2001 “Tech Wreck” market crash In a March 28 Situation Room report, Mikkelsen looks at the markets and notes that the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence number is the highest since 2000. This data point can be taken from two perspectives. Consumers being confident is said to…
As Soft Data Booms, Hard Trade Data Turns Positive in February
Mark Melin
Mark Melin is an alternative investment practitioner whose specialty is recognizing the impact of beta market environment on a technical trading strategy. A portfolio and industry consultant, wrote or edited three books including High Performance Managed Futures (Wiley 2010) and The Chicago Board of Trade’s Handbook of Futures and Options (McGraw-Hill 2008) and taught a course at Northwestern University's executive education program.