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Why Market Conditions Are Not Yet Bullish

A number of my recent conversations on The Final Bar have related to the conflict presented in the markets in April 2023. Classic measures of market trend, from the Coppock Curve to the Zweig Breadth Thrust to my own Market Trend Model, are all giving a strong positive signal on trend strength. But a deeper dive into the conditions for small-caps or defensive sectors or recessionary periods suggest that the equity indexes are basically pricing in an irrational and unlikely recovery, despite clearly negative conditions.

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So who’s right?

Today, we’ll break down five measures of market conditions, many of which suggest further caution at this point, despite the seasonal strength that usually plays out in the month of April.

The Market Trend Is Most Important

The first data series on today’s chart is undoubtedly the most important, and that is the price of the S&P 500 index. I was told early on from mentors like Ralph Acampora to focus first on the trend in the S&P 500. Everything else comes after that!

The top panel in the chart is the closing price of the S&P 500, which arguably aggregates all of the uncertainty I outlined above. I believe the SPX is a good illustration of the sentiment of equity investors, but I also recognize that a small number of mega-cap stocks have an outsized impact on the performance of this particular index.

The S&P 500 finished the week above 4100, which means we are once again testing the November 2022 and February 2023 highs. Will the SPX have enough upside momentum this time around to power through to a new swing high? The answer may be yes, but that answer is certainly not clear today.

Defensive Sectors Are Leading

I was asked recently about which sectors tend to do well during recessionary periods. I answered that three sectors tend to perform the best in this sort of environment: Consumer Staples, Utilities, and Health Care. Of course, these are all fairly defensive sectors, and represent products and services that you would most likely still spend money on regardless of market conditions and your own financial state.

The ratio of offense vs. defense in the consumer space (second panel down) has clearly been favoring Consumer Staples since the February market peak. So even as the market has rallied in recent weeks, defense is still outperforming offense.

Semiconductors have been one of the strongest groups off the October 2022 market low, and while the relative strength of the SMH is still in an uptrend, we’re seeing a bit of a pullback in recent weeks. This may be an important chart to watch for a downside reversal, particularly using trendline support.

Smaller Stocks Are Still Struggling

The most concerning data series on this chart are the final two, which track the relative performance of the small-cap Russell 2000 ETF and relative performance of the equal-weight S&P 500 ETF. Both of these ratios have been moving lower over the last eight to ten weeks, indicating the underfperformance of small- and mid-cap stocks vs. large- and mega-cap names.

Why is this an important measure of market risk?

When institutional investors are ready to take on more risk in their portfolio, they tend to look for higher beta, higher risk, and more speculative companies. The small-cap and mid-cap space is filled with emerging growth stories with long-term growth potential. So when these stocks are performing well, it suggests that investors are ready to take on more risk. That does not appear to be the case recently, where investors are instead favoring more established and less risky stocks like AAPL, MSFT, and others!

Can the market go higher from here? Absolutely. And given the lower volatility with the SPX poking above 4100, there is a very real possibility that we see an upside follow-through. But to feel more confident on potential for further upside, I’d want to see confirmation from some of the indicators presented in the chart above.

Want to digest this article in video format? Head on over to my YouTube channel!

RR#6,

Dave

P.S. Ready to upgrade your investment process? Check out my free behavioral investing course!

David Keller, CMT

Chief Market Strategist

StockCharts.com

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

The author does not have a position in mentioned securities at the time of publication. Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.

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Bullish Moxie Setups Working

On this week’s edition of Moxie Indicator Minutes, TG shows how he has had a bullish lean to the markets and how that has been setting up with the indexes and a few tickers. The market seems to have liked the PPI report, and so Thursday was a strong day. Will it continue?

This video was originally broadcast on April 14, 2023. Click this link to watch on YouTube. You can also view new episodes – and be notified as soon as they’re published – using the StockCharts on demand website, StockChartsTV.com, or its corresponding apps on Roku, Fire TV, iOS, Chromecast, Android, and more!

New episodes of Moxie Indicator Minutes air Fridays at 1:15pm ET on StockCharts TV. Archived episodes of the show are available at this link.

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Whatever Floats Your Boat

Another week where the indexes moved sideways and we are where we started the month on the $NDX. I am not excited that we keep having low volume days. Even with JPM earnings coming out strong today, we recorded the lowest volume going back to August 2022 other than the Thanksgiving holiday period.

The $SPX perked up a little more and closed up 0.69% on the week with a low volume day again. The indexes have been hard to follow with a lot of moving parts under the surface, yet they hold flat. The $SPX also recorded a very low volume day on Monday and Friday wasn’t a whole bunch better.

However, one industry that seemed to really float above the market was marine transportation. It has been drifting for a while, but it really started to perk up this week. Check out Maersk.

Looking around for other names related to marine transportation, this sudden spurt this week on GSL, Global Ship Leasing, was pretty interesting as well.

I actually found twelve companies in related spaces to ocean freight that had big weeks. Could this be the start of freight picking up speed? That’s a real positive if it’s true. I don’t have any knowledge about what is floating on the boat, but it might be a good time to get onboard these shipping stocks.

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Overbought until it Turns – Using the McClellan Oscillator for Condition and the PPO for Timing

Overbought and oversold conditions are tricky because stocks can become overbought/oversold and remain overbought/oversold as the move continues. This is why traders need another indicator or chart signal for confirmation. Today’s article to look at some recent overbought/oversold conditions and use the PPO for timing.

The chart below shows the McClellan Oscillator for the S&P 500 in the middle window. I set overbought at +90 and oversold at -90. The red arrows on the price chart show when the McClellan Oscillator became overbought and the green arrows show when it became oversold. A cluster of overbought or oversold readings count as one. The blue shaded ovals on the McClellan Oscillator plot show some signal clustering.

The McClellan Oscillator alerts us when the S&P 500 becomes short-term overbought or oversold. However, the index can become overbought/oversold and remain overbought/oversold. Notice how the McClellan Oscillator exceeded 90 on October 25th and the S&P 500 continued higher for another five weeks (blue arrow). This is why we need the PPO to time a downturn in price.

On the chart below, I am using PPO(10,60,10) because it produces fewer whipsaws than PPO(12,26,9). This version also has more lag because the time periods are longer. That’s the trade off! The lower window shows the PPO (black line) and its signal line (red line). Look for bullish signal line crosses after oversold readings in the McClellan Oscillator (green arrow lines) and bearish signal line crosses after overbought readings (red arrow lines).

The black arrows on the PPO chart show signals that did not work (December, February and June). The red and green arrow-lines show signals that resulted in sizable swings in the S&P 500. Recent volatility helped because the price swings since April have been rather large.

Most recently, the McClellan Oscillator became overbought on March 31st and April 3rd, but the PPO remains above its signal line. This means the S&P 500 is overbought and still trending higher (short-term). A bearish signal line cross in the PPO would signal a short-term trend reversal.

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See how the prices have changed for popular grocery items

Family grocery bills are on the rise with higher prices for most items, accentuated by significant increases in the cost of eggs. But unless shoppers are taking notes, it can be hard to really see which items are seeing the biggest spikes.

NBC News is monitoring the average point-of-sale prices and how much those prices have changed since April 2022 for six popular supermarket items: orange juice, eggs, chicken breasts, fresh ground beef, bacon and bread.

Readers can use this interactive chart to see how the price they have paid for groceries differs from the national average or from the prices shoppers paid in other major metro areas.

The goal is to track the impact of inflation on consumers’ wallets during the pandemic and as the economy reopens. The White House has said inflation is on the rise and here to stay.

The NBC News grocery price tracker is one measure of the outcomes of President Joe Biden’s economic policies for everyday people.

The Federal Reserve has said that prices have accelerated and that they are expected to keep rising. Input costs are up, especially for food and fuel, which pressures grocery prices. Supply chain disruptions and weather also play roles.

The data in the NBC News tracker, provided by NielsenIQ, is collected from real checkout prices paid nationwide at grocery stores, drugstores, mass merchandisers, selected dollar stores, selected warehouse clubs and military commissaries.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly consumer price index, which uses human data collectors and includes other food product categories, is another resource for average price data.

This story will be updated monthly.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS
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Even as inflation cools, many Americans take financial hits to help their adult kids

For many Americans, the economic recovery from the pandemic hasn’t felt like one. Despite falling inflation and a broad run-up in savings that households enjoyed over the past few years, many parents with working-age children are taking financial hits to help support them.

Just over half of parents with children over 18 said in a Bankrate/YouGov survey released Monday that they’d sacrificed some of their emergency savings and debt repayments to aid their adult children. Some 43% of respondents in the poll, conducted in mid-March, said such financial assistance had dented their own retirement savings.

The findings hint at the toll taken by months of price increases, even on working-age Americans who’ve benefited from a historically hot job market — and even as both continue to slow.

The Federal Reserve has reason to cheer Wednesday’s Consumer Price Index data, which showed prices averaging 5% higher in March than the year before, down from 6% in February. Fed officials have signaled that slower pay growth and hiring are necessary costs to battling inflation.

But for parents like Ed Lebert, a 41-year-old software engineer based in St. Paul, Minnesota, efforts to support family members who have struggled to gain financial independence represent a hidden cost that’s separate from those in grocery aisles or at the pump.

Around two years ago, Lebert’s now-22-year-old daughter and her then-infant son moved in with him and his wife, who works part-time as an office manager at a dental practice, along with their two youngest children, ages 18 and 10. Since then, he said, his daughter purchased a 2022 Honda Civic with a double-digit auto loan and wrecked it, racking up $13,000 in repairs on top of her $800 monthly car payment.

“It’s difficult as a parent, because it’s like you want your kids to make good financial decisions, but when they don’t, you also don’t want to just always bail them out,” he said.

Lebert said he and his wife, who pay a $3,000-per-month mortgage, are trying to provide some slack for their daughter, who works at a local Chick-Fil-A, so she can save up to repair her car and stash away at least a year’s worth of rent.

While he said the financial strain isn’t acute, Lebert buys groceries for the entire family — sometimes his daughter chips in — and his wife is looking for a full-time job to support their 18-year-old daughter’s tuition when she starts college this fall.

“She eats dinner with us. She goes to work. But we don’t pay her bills, and we don’t charge her rent,” Lebert said of their 22-year-old, “so she can just stay here and survive.”

So far, the arrangement is manageable. “I haven’t had to dip into retirement or savings to take care of my adult kids,” he said, but added that he might wind up doing so to “just fix the car and buy it.”

Among parents in similar situations, most haven’t tapped their retirement funds to help out, the Bankrate survey shows. The 43% who reported doing so in March was lower than the 50% level found in 2019, the last time the poll was conducted.

But Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst at Bankrate, a consumer-finance data provider, posited that the findings may conceal substantial variations across households that support working-age children. He noted that financial strides made earlier in the pandemic — including jumps in Americans’ savings — were not spread equally.

In Bankrate’s latest survey, those who said their retirement savings had been “significantly” affected by throwing lifelines to adult kids ticked up slightly to 18%, from 17% in 2019.

“A lot of the gains have eroded in the past year,” Rossman said. “In certain income brackets, like lower-income folks, I think that cushion is definitely gone.”

The survey found that households earning under $50,000 per year were more likely to help support grown children than those making more than $100,000. In fact, 58% of lower-income respondents said they’d sacrificed emergency savings for their adult kids, compared to 46% for the higher-earning group. (Earners in the middle of those two groups reported sacrificing less than either one in both categories.)

Joe Brusuelas, the chief economist at the consulting firm RSM, who wasn’t involved in the Bankrate survey, said the findings were no surprise. Low-earners’ “finances have been stretched due to two years of elevated inflation, rising interest rates and affordability issues when it comes to shelter,” he said.

These pressures have led some working-age adults — including those who are caregivers themselves — to move in with relatives to help reduce costs. “This idea of a multigenerational household is one that’s not new to the United States economy,” Brusuelas said, “but it’s returned with a vengeance during the time of inflation.”

As interest rates rise, some expenses like those Lebert’s family face are rising. Take the Honda his daughter purchased: According to analytics firm J.D. Power, the average APR for new vehicle auto loans reached 6.7% in March, up steeply from 4.4% the same month a year ago. The average monthly payment for new vehicles climbed to $721, from $663, during the same period.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS
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Delta CEO predicts ‘record’ summer travel season as FAA warns of another spike in delays

After a summer airline travel season filled with delays and disruptions last year, air travelers should prepare for what could be more of the same this summer, officials say.

In an interview with CNBC, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said customers are more interested than ever in getting out of town this summer.

Air travel “is something the consumer’s prioritizing,” Bastian said. “They may be pulling back in other areas … but I don’t see it in our credit card data, I don’t see it in our bookings.”

As it reported quarterly earnings Thursday, Delta said it was projecting “record advance bookings for the summer.”

It’s a statement supported by JPMorgan Chase industry analyst Jamie Baker, who said in a recent note to clients that he could not see “definitive evidence of cooling travel demand.” Booked revenue for the second quarter of 2023, he said, is “meaningfully ahead of last year.”

Data from the mobile travel booking site Hopper also shows demand for the summer travel season will be ‘strong,’ especially for international trips, where prices are up 34% from last year and up 32% from 2019.

And the latest figures from the Transportation Security Administration show daily passenger screening levels well ahead of where they were last year, with numerous days in 2023 having already surpassed their 2019, pre-pandemic equivalents.

Yet, Bastian of Delta Air Lines also said his company plans to nix a previously planned effort to get passenger capacity back to 2019 levels.

“We’re intentionally pulling back some of the capacity,” Bastian told CNBC. “We want to make sure we don’t outrun our capabilities.”

Airlines and the wider air travel industry have struggled to replenish staffing ranks as the pandemic has waned.

Most recently, the Federal Aviation Administration announced it was asking airlines to cut back service in the New York area because it is facing a severe shortfall of qualified air traffic controllers.

In a March memo, the agency said the region’s controller capacity was at just 54% of its target. Given current planned operations, the FAA said, it anticipates a 45% spike in delays for this summer.

The FAA said it is giving airlines “the ability to reduce operations during the peak summer travel period, which are likely to be exacerbated by the effects of Air Traffic Controller (ATC) staffing shortfalls.”

Airlines have already begun to respond. JetBlue was the first to announce it would be cutting flights for the area, and last week United and American airlines said they would do the same.

Airlines have already cut about 10% of scheduled flights this spring to address performance issues, the aviation trade group Airlines for America said.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS
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See which sports stars landed on Time 100 list of influential people

The annual Time 100 list, which honors the most influential people of the year, featured six prominent athletes whose contributions far exceed their star status on the playing surfaces.

On Thursday, Time magazine published its list for 2023 and included Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner, World Tennis Association No. 1 women’s player Iga Świątek, French soccer star Kylian Mbappé, Argentinian soccer icon Lionel Messi, women’s alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin and NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes. To introduce the selections, celebrity guest contributors wrote the entries for each.

WNBA legend Sue Bird wrote Griner’s entry; Shiffrin wrote Świątek’s; Time correspondent Vivienne Walt wrote Mbappé’s; men’s tennis great Roger Federer wrote Messi’s; Lindsey Vonn wrote Shiffrin’s and Peyton Manning wrote Mahomes’.

Here’s everything you need to know about the sports personalities on the Time 100 list.

TIME 100 REVEALED: Angela Bassett, Austin Butler, Doja Cat, Steve Lacy make 2023 list

Brittney Griner

An eight-time WNBA All-Star for the Phoenix Mercury, Griner has become an advocate for Americans wrongly detained across the globe after she spent nearly 10 months in a Russian penal colony. Griner, 32, was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on February 17, 2022 after authorities found vape cartridges with hash oil in her luggage. Griner pleaded guilty in early July, saying she’d mistakenly packed the drugs and that ‘there was no intent’ to break the law. She was sentenced to nine years in prison but was eventually released after a prisoner exchange in December 2022 for arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Griner represented the U.S. at the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning two gold medals. She most recently played in the WNBA in 2021, when she helped lead the Mercury to an appearance in the WNBA Finals. Griner averaged 20.5 points per game in 2021, ranking second-best in the league, as well as leading the league with 1.9 blocks per game and setting a Phoenix franchise record with 9.5 rebounds per game. She has also been an advocate for transgender rights and has been a champion for the LGBTQ+ community.

‘Brittney Griner’s story represents so much. First off, it’s about resilience,’ wrote Bird. ‘But underneath this story of inner strength is so much more. … It speaks to the power of the women who rallied around her – Black women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, our WNBA community – and who made certain her name was never forgotten, that she’d return home. These are the women who get sh-t done.’

Iga Świątek

Świątek has become the dominant force in women’s tennis, rising to the No. 1 ranking in the Women’s Tennis Association despite being only 21. Świątek won a tour-best eight trophies and also ripped off a 37-match winning streak last year. In fact, heading into the Australian Open in January, Świątek had won two of the previous three majors. 

Świątek, whose native Poland has a clear proximity to the Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine, also recently spoke out about the response of the tennis community to Russian and Belarusian players on tour. Świątek said in an interview with the BBC that tennis could’ve done better ‘from the beginning’ in banning Russian and Belarusian players to show that the sport and its executives were against the war.

Świątek’s advocacy for mental health and supporting Ukrainians in their fight to protect their home was lauded by Shiffrin.

‘As an athlete, and more importantly as a human, she embodies the kind of confidence that everyone should emulate – the confidence of action over mere talk,’ Shiffrin wrote.

Kylian Mbappé

He may be the fastest soccer player in the world and, at 24, Mbappé is only getting better. He has been on the cusp of FIFA and soccer’s most prized individual awards, though he established himself as one of the most dangerous players in the sport after a dominant showing in the 2022 World Cup, in which he scored half of France’s 16 goals.

In fact, in the final – an eventual loss to Argentina – Mbappé scored twice in a 90-second span to keep France in the match, and finished with a hat trick. His eight goals in the 2022 World Cup were the most in a single World Cup since Brazilian star Ronaldo in 2002. Mbappé is tied with Pele with 12 World Cup goals overall, and he needs only four more to match Miroslav Klose’s record. With his age, though, it’s within reason that Mbappé might have up to three more World Cups in his career. And with his dominant final, Mbappé showed that he’s a player who can take over a game, even on the biggest stage.

Walt called Mbappé ‘a living rags-to-riches fairy tale’ and wrote, ‘Despite his incredible celebrity, Mbappé has three home truths from his mom that keep him grounded: ‘Respect, humility, lucidity.”

Lionel Messi

The one thing that was missing from Messi’s illustrious career he earned in December, when the long-time captain of the Argentinian men’s soccer team won his first career World Cup. He also won the tournament’s Golden Ball, given to the World Cup’s best player. He can add that to seven Ballon d’Or trophies — given to the best player in the world for that calendar year — four Champions League titles and more than 100 goals scored while representing Argentina.

Messi’s sheer wizardry with the ball near his feet ushered in a style of playmaking that those who have come in subsequent waves have tried to emulate, and not only in Argentina. Though, arguably, no sports star has become a bigger draw in their home country than Messi, who was recently serenaded outside a Buenos Aires steakhouse when social media reports circulated that he was dining there. Even at 35, Messi continues to be a draw and might be the most recognizable athlete in the world.

Federer shared his respect for Messi, writing: ‘My career has just come to an end. I now realize how much weight we athletes carry. But in our daily lives, we don’t even realize it.

‘For a football player like Messi, that weight likely feels more massive, as he represents both a world-renowned club and a very passionate country. … Even those who don’t follow football must have realized the true impact of the world’s most popular game.’

Mikaela Shiffrin

In March, Shiffrin became the most decorated skier of all time, winning her 87th World Cup event that broke a record that stood for 34 years. Shiffrin, 28, would actually go on to end the season with an 88th victory. She is a force across every discipline in skiing, not excelling as a specialist in just speed or technical events. The previous record holder, Ingemar Stenmark, needed 15 seasons to get there; Shiffrin did it in 11.

Despite her dominance in the sport, Shiffrin has also become a paradigm for how to navigate shocking defeat and failure. Shiffrin was expected to collect a haul of medals at last year’s Beijing Olympics, but instead she came home empty-handed, recording DNFs in three of her five individual races. Shiffrin has been open about how unmoored she was by her grief after the unexpected passing of her father.

‘With Serena Williams stepping away from tennis, there’s room for another big female global sports superstar,’ wrote Vonn, ‘and Mikaela can fill that opportunity.’

Patrick Mahomes

The star quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs is the face of the NFL. And, at the young age of 27, he’s fresh off of a season in which he won his second AP NFL Most Valuable Player award, his second Super Bowl and Super Bowl MVP, his second All-Pro nomination and his fifth Pro Bowl selection – one for each year that he has been a starter in the league. His play subverts long-established conventions about what quarterbacking is supposed to look like, he’s a player future generations will try to emulate and he elevates those around him.

He’s also a monumental figure off the field. In 2020, when he was just 24, Mahomes became a minority owner of MLB’s Kansas City Royals. Also in 2020, Mahomes helped foot the bill for making Arrowhead Stadium a polling place so that Missourians could cast their votes in that November’s election. He started his ’15 and the Mahomies’ foundation that has provided 136,000 meals and more than $2.5 million in charitable grants to 101 different organizations.

Manning wrote how Mahomes once served as a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy, a summer football camp for high school players that Archie Manning founded in 1996.

‘You can learn a lot about a person by the way they treat eighth-graders and ninth-graders during those hot days in Louisiana,’ Manning wrote. ‘Patrick was great with the kids. I remember his arm strength back then. It jumped out at you.

‘Patrick is setting new bars,’ Manning continued. ‘All these young players around the country are trying to imitate his sidearm throws and incredible plays. But I hope they know he’s also an incredibly hard worker. He appreciates the cerebral part of the game. And he understands his platform, as the MVP quarterback of the Super Bowl–winning team.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Texans introduce kids paratriathlon to celebrate young fan

The Houston Texans will host its first kids paratriathlon Saturday and Sunday as part of the 10th anniversary of its usual triathlon festivities. The new addition to the event, presented by the Texas Children’s Hospital, is to celebrate a young fan, 12-year-old Tray Sarich.

Tray, who was born without a shinbone, participated in the Short Course of the Texans’ triathlon last year.

‘I have fun doing the triathlons,’ he said to USA TODAY Sports, adding that of swimming, cycling and running, he enjoys ‘all of them.’

“We’re always looking for ways to evolve as an organization and the Houston Texans Kids Triathlon is no different,” Adrienne Saxe, Houston Texans Director of Community Development, said in a statement. “Tray is amazing and his participation in last year’s race inspired us to expand the event so it’s even more accessible for kids of all abilities. We can’t wait to see him on the course this weekend.”

Tray’s mom, Debbie, adopted him from China when he was five years old. He walked on his knees before having surgery to remove his lower leg and he now walks and runs with a prosthesis. 

‘I think it’s very exciting for honestly all of parasports,’ Debbie, who has seven adopted children with disabilities, told USA TODAY Sports of the NFL team including a paratriathlon. ‘… We’re all about inclusion and participation and having these kids that play adaptive sports able to participate with their peers in any way possible.’

Tray will participate in the paratriathlon this year and is training for the first time with a team, Select Tri, led by coach Amie Quinn. Tray is continuing to master swimming and running and he’s learning how to use a two-wheeled bicycle after previously using a hand-cycle.

‘They’ve been just super wonderful,’ Debbie said, noting how the coaches have gone out of their way to learn about best techniques for para-athletes. ‘They’re so supportive and so awesome and they’re really helping Tray in every part of his triathlon.’

‘The coaches and kids are pretty nice,’ Tray said. ‘Not pretty, they’re nice, actually.’

Debbie recalled the crowd of kids around Tray at the triathlon last year after a young girl worked up the courage to ask him what happened to his leg. Tray went on to tell her a story about how he lost his leg when he was swimming with sharks and how he likes to hop with the bunnies.

‘He will entertain people a little bit with it and help educate people,’ Debbie shared. ‘So that was just a really, really cute adorable experience.’

Debbie encourages all of her children to play sports and notices an improvement in their self-confidence. Tray also plays adaptive basketball and her other kids participate in swimming and adaptive tennis.

‘They have situations in school or elsewhere where kids may say things about their disabilities,’ she said, ‘but I’ve taught them to not be so focused on the things that other people say, but to be focused on all that they can and do accomplish. Each of them are very proud of their athletic accomplishments. … It helps them discover that they are good at things and it helps them have a purpose and something to aim for and goals in life. So yeah, it’s been very positive.’

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Women’s tennis tour ends China boycott started to support Peng Shuai

‘After 16 months of suspended tennis competition in China and sustained efforts at achieving our original requests, the situation has shown no sign of changing,’ the WTA said. ‘We have concluded we will never fully secure those goals, and it will be our players and tournaments who ultimately will be paying an extraordinary price for their sacrifices. 

‘For these reasons, the WTA is lifting its suspension of the operation of tournaments in the People’s Republic of China (‘PRC’) and will resume tournaments in China this September.’

Why did the WTA boycott China?

The WTA suspended play in China in December 2021 after Shuai, a former doubles No. 1 player and three-time Olympian, reported that she was sexually assaulted by a high-ranking official in the Chinese government. Shuai shared the story on Instagram that former vice premier Zhang Gaoli forced her to have sex.

She went missing after making the post, which was quickly taken down. On Nov. 21, she had a video call with International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach where she reported that she was safe at her home in Beijing, but wished to have her privacy respected, according to the IOC.

In removing itself from play in China, the WTA demanded that a thorough investigation of her claims was conducted and that it was given the opportunity to speak to Shuai.

Did the WTA get a resolution?

No and yes. There was never an investigation into the reports of sexual assault — Shuai later denied her claims and has since appeared representing China at the 2022 Beijing Olympic games — and Zhang was never disciplined. He made a public appearance in October at the 20th Communist Party Congress. A member of the WTA has not met with Shuai personally. But in its statement, the organization said it had sufficient evidence to believe that she was safe.

‘We have been in touch with people close to Peng and are assured she is living safely with her family in Beijing,’ it said. ‘We also have received assurances that WTA players and staff operating in China will be safe and protected while in the country. The WTA takes this commitment seriously and will hold all parties responsible.’

Why is the WTA returning to China?

There were 10 WTA scheduled events on the tour in 2019, including the season opener Shenzhen Open and the China Open in Beijing. These events brought in millions of dollars.

Besides the financial impact, the WTA pointed out its desire to continue making connections with tennis fans in China and creating opportunities for players in the country.

‘Through our time and commitment in China over the past 20 years, the WTA has made significant progress in creating a pathway and opportunity for women athletes to pursue tennis as a career and for tennis to become a focus of recreational activity in the country,’ the statement said. ‘With the suspension, we forfeited our ability to provide women in the region with opportunities to advance professionally through tennis and be role models for future generations.’

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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