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Two Measures of Inflation: New Update

by Chart School - December 24th, 1969 7:00 pm

Courtesy of Doug Short.

Note from dshort: I’ve now updated the charts below to include today’s Consumer Price Index data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The annualized rate of change is calculated to two decimal places for more precision in the side-by-side comparison.

The BLS’s Consumer Price Index for January, released today, shows core inflation above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target at 2.28%. Core PCE, at the end of last month, is fractionally below the target at 1.85%. The Fed, of course, is on record as using Core PCE as its inflation gauge:

The inflation rate over the longer run is primarily determined by monetary policy, and hence the Committee has the ability to specify a longer-run goal for inflation. The Committee judges that inflation at the rate of 2 percent, as measured by the annual change in the price index for personal consumption expenditures, is most consistent over the longer run with the Federal Reserve’s statutory mandate. Communicating this inflation goal clearly to the public helps keep longer-term inflation expectations firmly anchored, thereby fostering price stability and moderate long-term interest rates and enhancing the Committee’s ability to promote maximum employment in the face of significant economic disturbances. [Source]

The October 2010 core CPI of 0.61% was the lowest ever recorded, and two months later the core PCE of 0.93% was an all-time low. However, we have seen a significant divergence between the headline and core numbers for both indicators, especially the CPI, at least until a few months ago, when energy prices began moderating. The latest headline CPI and PCE are both off their respective interim highs set in September.

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Race to the Finish: The 1968 and 2000 Secular Bears

by Chart School - December 24th, 1969 7:00 pm

Courtesy of Doug Short.

Note from dshort: I received a request to post an update of my overlay of the 1968-1982 secular bear with our current market from the peak in 2000.

Here’s an update of a chart series I’ve occasionally shared that compares two secular bear markets — the current decline since the peak in March 2000 and the S&P 500 from its peak on November 29, 1968 to its bottom on August 12, 1982.

The first chart is a overlay of the index price for the two periods excluding dividends. At first blush, the 2000 secular bear looks like the more savage beast.

Now let’s adjust both for inflation using the BLS Consumer Price Index. As the next chart clearly illustrates, the era of stagflation in the 1970s decimated the real value of the earlier series.

Most people, even first wave Boomers, don’t realize the savagery of that earlier 14-year decline other than perhaps a recollection of the decade of stagflation that started with the 1973 oil embargo. The chart illustrates how both bears behaved over the decade following their peaks and how the stagflation bear continued its race to the bottom for another two years.

It will be interesting to check back in two years to see who wins this battle of the bears.

But what about a Total Return comparison?

If we factor in dividends, the earlier bear looks far better. After all, the dividend yield on the S&P 500 averaged 4.18% during those years compared to 1.82% since the market peak in 2000.

But when we adjust for inflation, the performance of these two secular bears is far more similar, and the real total returns over the same elapsed time puts the two in a virtual “dead heat” (no pun intended).

We’ll check back on this competition a periodically in the months ahead.

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Those Russell 2000 Twins

by Chart School - December 24th, 1969 7:00 pm

Courtesy of Doug Short.

Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The analysis and recommendations presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.

The chart blow was posted on August 8th, reflected an almost perfect identical inverted wedge patterns in the Russell 2000 (see post here).

Below is an update on the Russell (this time right-side-up). Note how much the current pattern continues to look like 2008.

The 750-770 level was stiff resistance in 2008, and so far it remains stiff resistance in 2011. For the repeating pattern to fail, the Russell needs to break out to the upside at (4).

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A Million Dollars Ain’t What It Used To Be

by Chart School - December 24th, 1969 7:00 pm

Courtesy of Doug Short.

If you had $1 Million in the bank you would be rich – right? That is what half of the respondents to a recent study by the Gallup Organization said. From the survey: “…Americans [were asked] how much net worth, or savings in cash, stocks, real estate, and other investments, they would need to consider themselves rich. The median figure Americans give is $1 million, the same as in Gallup’s 2003 poll asking the same question.

Currently, 26% of Americans say they would need in excess of $1 million in savings in order to consider themselves rich, including 14% who say $5 million or more. At the other end of the spectrum, 13% would consider themselves rich with less than $100,000 in savings. Estimates of the amount of savings a person needs to be rich are generally similar by subgroup, though college graduates report a median of $1 million and college nongraduates of $500,000.”

Of course, in today’s society, we are constantly bombarded with big numbers. Whether it is “The Millionaire Matchmaker” providing “relationship services” for millionaire’s to billions of dollars in corporate profits or trillions of dollars in government debt; it’s all just a digit or two with lots of zero’s behind them. Meanwhile, back at home, the average American is struggling to make ends meet in a weak economy. Therefore, it is not surprising that a dream of just ONE million dollars would go a long way to solving their ills. However, being “rich” in terms of a total net worth number tells us very little. In reality what these individuals are trying to say is that I want enough money to “live the life that we have become accustomed to.” without have to stress myself just to get by.

How Much Income Do You Need To Be Rich?

The amount of INCOME you need at retirement is a much more important question. Income as a function of retirement is relative to the living standards to which you have become accustomed. Therefore, when it comes to “retirement”, it all boils down to the income stream that is available from which to live. However, in order figure that out we need to determine…

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The Dollar, Gold and the Market

by Chart School - December 24th, 1969 7:00 pm

Courtesy of Doug Short.

Commodity expert Dennis Gartman certainly struck a nerve in the financial community as word hit the street of his call on gold in the latest Gartman Letter (subscription required). Here is the gist, as reported by Bloomberg:

“Since the early autumn here in the Northern Hemisphere gold has failed to make a new high. Each high has been progressively lower than the previous high, and now we’ve confirmation that the new interim low is lower than the previous low. We have the beginnings of a real bear market, and the death of a bull.”

For a bit of historical context, here is a 20-year overlay of Gold and the Dollar.

Here is an equally interesting overlay of Gold and the S&P 500.

Now let’s take a long-term look at the Dollar and the S&P 500.

And finally, a three-way overlay.

Given the fundamental economic crisis in Europe, questions about the sustainability of growth in China, and the slow-motion boomer demographic shift in the US, the prospect of secular changes in these three asset classes (Gold, the Dollar and US equities) would not be unexpected.

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Dollar Soars Following FOMC No Hint of QE3; Looking Ahead, What’s Next?

by Chart School - December 24th, 1969 7:00 pm

Courtesy of Doug Short.

I have read countless articles recently regarding the inevitability of QE3. I have disagreed for four reasons:

Price of oil near $100 give Fed little choice

Rising price of food gives Fed little choice

Stock market has risen on air and hype of European bailout giving Fed little reason

Falling unemployment rate (even though it’s totally bogus) gives Fed little reason

Why should the Fed react when hot air from Europe gave a huge lift to the markets?

I would have been surprised if the Fed tossed a QE3 bone under those circumstances. And it didn’t. The Forex market responded appropriately:

The US dollar rose against all major currencies

The Euro sunk to an 11-month low

Euro Daily Chart

The Euro took out the October 2011 low and is in fact now at lows last seen mid-January of 2011.

Forex Currency Market

The US dollar rose against every Barchart-Listed Currency.

Looking Ahead, What’s Next?

If the Fed holds off on QE3 and the ECB cuts further, both of which are likely for the near-future, the US dollar will likely strengthen more. However, and as I have pointed out, one cannot look at these things in isolation.

A downgrade of the EFSF and/or France by rating agencies would be US dollar supportive as would falling demand for commodities from China as noted in China?s Deserted ?Fake Disneyland?; Shanghai Prices Down 40% from Peak, Inventory Clogs Market; Pollyannas Proven Wrong; Implications for US Dollar

Implications for US Dollar
I have said on numerous occasions, China’s shift from a real estate and construction economy is going to send many commodity prices tumbling. In isolation, this is good for the US dollar, but things cannot be viewed in isolation.

Currency movements will depend on how central banks in the US, China, Europe, and Japan react to the global slowdown.

Certainly the Crumbling of Comprehensive Solution No. 4; Treaty “Legally Doubtful”; Cracks and Splinters Everywhere is US dollar supportive regardless of repeated “Pet Lies” by EC President Van Rompuy.

On the other side of the coin, US deficits are out of control. However, I believe (and the market seems to agree), the other factors are more important in the short-to-intermediate term.

Originally posted at Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis

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Estimating Future Stock Market Returns

by Chart School - December 24th, 1969 7:00 pm

Courtesy of Doug Short.

“Mankind are so much the same, in all times and places, that history informs us of nothing new or strange in this particular. Its chief use is only to discover the constant and universal principles of human nature.” - David Hume

Long-time readers will know that we do not make predictions in the normal sense. That is, we endorse the decisive evidence that markets and economies are complex, dynamic systems which are not reducible to normal cause-effect analysis. However, we are willing to acknowledge the likelihood that the future is likely to rhyme with the past. Thus, we apply simple statistical models to discover mean estimates of what the future may hold over meaningful investment horizons (10+ years), while acknowledging the wide range of possibilities that exist around these averages.

There are several reasons why it may be useful to have a more robust estimate of future expected returns on stocks:

People who are approaching retirement need to estimate probable returns in order to budget how much they need to save.

A retiree’s level of sustainable income is largely dictated by expected returns over the early years of retirement.

Investors of all types must make an informed decision about how best to allocate their capital among various investment opportunities

Many studies have attempted to quantify the relationship between Shiller PE and future stock returns. Shiller PE smoothes away the spikes and troughs in corporate earnings which occur as a result of the business cycle by averaging inflation-adjusted earnings over rolling historical 10-year windows.

This study contributes substantially to research on smoothed earnings and Shiller PE by adding three new valuation indicators: the Q-Ratio, total market capitalization to GNP, and deviations from the long-term price trends. The Q-Ratio measures how expensive stocks are relative to the replacement value of corporate assets. Market capitalization to GNP accounts for the aggregate value of U.S. publicly traded business as a porportion of the size of the economy. In 2001, Warren Buffett wrote an article in Fortune where he states, “The ratio has certain limitations in telling you what you need to know. Still, it is probably the best single measure of where valuations stand at any given…

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The Shanghai Tower and Aftermath

by Chart School - December 24th, 1969 7:00 pm

Courtesy of Doug Short.

Note from dshort: I’ve updated the charts to include today’s 2.14% decline in the index.

Today all eyes are on the eurozone financial crisis, crashing commodities, and the potential drag on US markets. But what caught my eye was the Shanghai Composite, which logged its 5th consecutive daily decline and the 16th decline in the last 21 sessions.

My friend and occasional guest contributor Chris Kimble came up with the notion of an Eiffel Tower formation as an emblematic way to discuss asset bubbles, which was featured in a guest commentary from last summer. The behavior of the Shanghai index over a two-year period beginning in late 2006 is a classic example, as the first two charts illustrate.

With an arithmetic vertical axis, the tower fit is rather amazing.

But let’s switch to a log scale vertical axis and shorten the timeframe to look at the numbers. We diminish the playful tower analogy, but we get a more accurate visual representation of the relative values of peaks and troughs in the price.

Where is this index headed in the near to intermediate term? The trend toward austerity in the European Union, China’s biggest export market, will be a significant problem, likewise the financial stress of a deflating housing bubble. However, over the next few years, Chinese demographics should provide a bit of cushion.

In developed countries, the peak earning years are ages 45-54, with the 45-49 cohort as the peak spenders. Assuming China is moving toward a similar pattern (an assumption I make with caution), the earning-spending cohorts will grow significantly. Unless the housing bubble triggers a widespread retrenchment and a loss of consumer confidence, demographics, at least over the next 5-10 years, should work in China’s favor, driven by home-grown consumption.

One thing is certain. We’ll want to keep a close eye on the Shanghai Composite in the months ahead.

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A Confederacy of Dunces?

by Chart School - December 24th, 1969 7:00 pm

Courtesy of Doug Short.

On January 9th, 1790, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton issued his Report on Public Credit in response to a request by the House of Representatives. The report, though overlooked, belongs in the canon of American historical documents along with the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Federalist Papers among others. In it Hamilton argued the newly formed Federal government should assume the war debts incurred by the thirteen colonies during the Revolutionary War.

At the time, the credit of the U.S. government was in disrepute. Although the newly formed government (or, its predecessor under the Articles of Confederation) had not repudiated its war time debts, it was in arrears on both interest and principal. Furthermore, in the intervening period between the Treaty of Paris (1783) and the Constitution’s ratification (1788) several states had adopted differing policies to the war debts they incurred. Some such as Georgia had made it a priority to settle its accounts; while others such as South Carolina delayed repayment.

The brilliance of Hamilton?s plan was to recognize that no matter how scrupulous the new Federal government might be in paying its debts, the reputation of the United States would be tarnished by the reluctance or inability of individual states to pay their war loans. Naturally there was discord between states such as Georgia that would gain little by Hamilton?s proposal and other states like Massachusetts which would be relieved of their debt burden.

In the end, Congress voted to adopt the Hamilton plan. Within a short space of time the credit of the United States was redeemed. Debt which formerly traded at a deep discount appreciated sharply.

Today European leaders are faced with a similar dilemma. All realize certain member states of the European Monetary Union have borrowed way more than they can ever hope to repay. Certain nations, most notably Germany but also the Netherlands, Finland and Austria, hesitate to bail out their profligate neighbors to the south.

Their objections rest upon the argument of sovereignty. Without suitable restraints, there is little to stop the likes of a Greece from indulging in another borrowing…

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