The Bank of England signaled Thursday that officials are preparing to raise interest rates within months. Of course, this could be the same old jawboning that central bankers have practiced without actually taking any action. They said the economy would have to perform in line with officials' expectations for them to take action. Such a move would mark the first interest-rate increase in the U.K. in almost a decade.
North Korea made fresh threats Thursday in response to the latest United Nation sanctions, vowing to sink Japan with a nuclear weapon and destroy the U.S. and called the U.N. a “tool of evil” for backing the sanctions. They said the U.S. should be “beaten to death like a rabid dog,” according to media reports.
Marc “Dr Doom” Faber things look pretty bleak for the dollar in the long term — and that’s what’s making bitcoin attractive. “You just have to look at the U.S. administration and their economic policies that will not be very conducive for dollar strength in the long run,” said Faber. “The question is, which currency is much better than the U.S. dollar? They’re all not so desirable, that’s why some people invest heavily in the so-called cryptocurrencies [such as bitcoin]."
Indeed, the dollar has had its sharpest drop since 2010. Meanwhile, bitcoin may undergo another one of its "crashes" due to the Chinese banning ICOs and bitcoin trading on their exchanges. However, it has been pointed out that China is not looking to prevent growth in the cryptospace but is rather seeking to regulate how cryptotechnology companies raise investment capital. As for the Chinese cryptocurrency exchanges, it has been preliminarily reported that China will require each exchange meet proper licensing requirements. This is no different that what is required of cryptocurrency exchanges in the U.S.Focus List Notes:
AMZN was added to the list yesterday after it posted a roundabout type of pocket pivot coming back up through the 50-dma. This is buyable using the 50-dma as a selling guide
ANET picked up some volume support at its 20-dema yesterday, keeping it in a lower-risk entry position while using the 20-dema as a selling guide.
BABA posted a pocket pivot breakout from a short three-week flag formation.
EA remains wihtin seven-week base as it holds along its 20-dema. This puts it in a lower-risk entry position using the 20-dema as a tight selling guide or the 50-dma as a wider selling guide.
FB had a "voodoo" pullback to its 10-dma yesterday as volume dried up to -44% below average. This puts it in a lower-risk entry position using either the 10-dma or 20-dema as a selling guide.
JD was added to the list on Tuesday as it just barely cleared the 50-dma, where it was buyable that morning. It is now extended after rallying 1.98 or 4.6% higher yesterday.
MOMO dipped below its 10-dma yesterday but remains withing an eight-day price range. The low of this range is 36.88, so a move below that should be monitored. Any rally back above the 36.88 price level which would trigger the stock as an undercut & rally (U&R) long set-up.
SNAP has pulled into its 10-dma with volume declining to below-average. It sold off on Tuesday after AAPL announced additional features to its iMessage app which were seen as potential competition for SNAP. Selling has quieted down, and the stock is in a lower-risk entry position here using the 10-dma as a tight selling guide.
VRTX is sitting right at its 20-dema with volume drying up to -47% below-average yesterday. This remains in a lower-risk entry position using the 20-dema as a tight selling guide.
WTW started to the upside yesterday, but reversed to close down slightly on higher but well below-average volume. Watch for a possible test of the 50-dma on the daily chart on light volume as a lower-risk entry opportunity.