Is this how a currency war begins?

Preface: Explaining our market timing models
We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade.

The Trend Model is an asset allocation model which applies trend following principles based on the inputs of global stock and commodity price. This model has a shorter time horizon and tends to turn over about 4-6 times a year. In essence, it seeks to answer the question, "Is the trend in the global economy expansion (bullish) or contraction (bearish)?"

My inner trader uses a trading model, which is a blend of price momentum (is the Trend Model becoming more bullish, or bearish?) and overbought/oversold extremes (don't buy if the trend is overbought, and vice versa). Subscribers receive real-time alerts of model changes, and a hypothetical trading record of the those email alerts are updated weekly here. The hypothetical trading record of the trading model of the real-time alerts that began in March 2016 is shown below.

The latest signals of each model are as follows:

• Ultimate market timing model: Buy equities*
• Trend Model signal: Neutral*
• Trading model: Bearish*

* The performance chart and model readings have been delayed by a week out of respect to our paying subscribers.

Update schedule: I generally update model readings on my site on weekends and tweet mid-week observations at @humblestudent. Subscribers receive real-time alerts of trading model changes, and a hypothetical trading record of the those email alerts is shown here.



Sleepwalking into a currency war?
As we look ahead to the FOMC meeting next week, it may be the start of a synchronized global easing cycle. The ECB signaled a dovish tone last week at its meeting. The EURUSD exchange rate weakened, and the USD Index strengthened. From a technical perspective, the USD is exhibiting bullish patterns on multiple time frames. The index staged an upside breakout on an inverse head and shoulders formation on the daily chart, with an upside measured upside target of about 99.10. Conversely, EURUSD has broken down in a head and shoulders, with a downside target of about 110.

It is also forming a possible bullish cup and handle pattern on the weekly chart, with an upside target of 107.70 to 108.00 on a breakout.

In addition, the trade weighted USD has also formed a possible cup and handle pattern that stretches back to 2002, with bullish implications.

The global nature of the seemingly coordinated central bank easing begs the question of whether monetary policy is inadvertently starting a cycle of competitive devaluation. Is this how a currency war starts?

We examine this thesis from the viewpoints of the three main currency and trading blocs, Europe, China, and the US.

The full post can be found here.