The Dark Side of Deficits
by ilene - August 28th, 2010 6:30 pm
The Dark Side of Deficits
Courtesy of John Mauldin at Thoughts from the Frontline
Secular Bull and Bear Markets
It’s Not the (Stupid) Economy
The Consequences of a Credit Crisis
The Dark Side of Deficits
LA, Europe, Kansas City, and Houston
In the pre-crisis days, I used to write about things like P/E ratios, secular bull and bear markets, valuations, and all of the things we used to think about in the Old Normal. But what about those topics as we begin our trip through the New Normal? It’s time to reconvene class and think through what might change and what will remain the same. I think this will be a fun read – and let me tip my hand. I come out on the side of a new secular bull that gets us back to trend – but not just yet. The New Normal has to have its turn first. (Note: this will print out longer than usual, as there are a lot of charts.)
And speaking of first, I once again need some help from readers. I will be in "jail" next week for the Muscular Dystrophy Society. I need you to help bail me out. You can go to https://www.joinmda.org/downtowndallas2010/johnm and make a donation to help kids and families who really need help in these difficult times, and also help sponsor research that will eventually cure this disease. If you follow the link, you can see a cute video – and then make your donation!
I thank you and I am sure Jerry’s kids thank you too!
Secular Bull and Bear Markets
Market analysts (of which I am a minor variety) talk all the time about secular bull and bear cycles. I argued in this column in 2002 (and later in Bull’s Eye Investing) that most market analysts use the wrong metric for analyzing bull and bear cycles.
(For the record, even though I am talking about the US
"Cycles" are defined as events that repeat in a sequence. For there to be a cycle, some condition or situation must recur over a period of time. We are able to observe a wide variety of cycles in our lives: patterns in the weather, the moon, radio waves, etc.…
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DiggThings We Lost In The Fire
by ilene - June 8th, 2010 1:53 pm
Things We Lost In The Fire
Courtesy of Joshua M. Brown, The Reformed Broker
Over the last month, US markets have been burned to a crisp. Blame it on Europe, blame it on a softening of our own recovery data, blame it on the end of earnings season, blame it on the end of quantitative easing, blame it on the Gulf spill, blame it on the engineered cool-off in China.
Is it too soon to eulogize the March 2009 – April 2010 bull market, a 78% performer that even the most bullish never really believed in the entire way up? Depends on which support lines and moving averages you happen to be fixated on at the moment.
But it is certainly not too early to lament the Things We Lost In The Fire - the idiosyncrasies of the Impossible Rally that we may have lost for good. These include:
Apple as the Michael Jordan of the NASDSAQ- Steve Jobs had us from hello, we clamored around the television for each product release and conference, and Mr. Jobs did not disappoint. Nor did Apple stock, which seemed to go up 3 to 5 points a day for what seemed like an endless stretch of time. It was a reminder to stockpickers everywhere that ETFs didn’t control everything- that you could get one right on research. The release of the iPad and the move toward shattering the $300 per share mark epitomized the release of our pent-up optimism and will always be remembered as a special time in market history.
Cree Research, Green Mountain Coffee and Baidu- The hottest of hot…
A BEAR MARKET OR JUST A CORRECTION?
by ilene - June 8th, 2010 4:06 am
A BEAR MARKET OR JUST A CORRECTION?
Courtesy of The Pragmatic Capitalist
Readers have likely noted my decidedly more bearish tone of late. Coming into 2010 I was fairly optimistic about the equity markets and the economy in the first half of the year with expectations of a second half slow-down. The
But as the market continues to decline we have to ask ourselves if fear isn’t getting a bit ahead of fundamentals? Are investors too bearish and pricing in too much negativity or are they not bearish enough? In other words, is this a new bear
“Well, so far the S&P 500 is down nearly 10% from the highs, so this is indeed a correction thus far but more often than not, declines like these morph into something more severe — even when we are in durable economic expansion phases like 1987 and 1998. This recovery is tentative, at best. But the numbers we are looking at is a 50% retracement of the March 2009-April 2010 runup, which means 943 on the S&P 500 and the reality that lows in the market, whether they be interim or more fundamental, tend to occur with the index 20% below the 200-day moving average, which at this stage would be 879. So at least we have a defined range of when to begin to put money to work. A break below that range would indicate that Mr. Market is sniffing out a double-dip recession, not just a visible slowing.
The ECRI leading index is down to a 47-week low, which is pointing towards much softer growth ahead and the Shanghai equity index is off nearly 30% and perhaps giving us a reading on global growth prospects. The one thing we do know is that the last time China was down 30%, this was a train hardly worth boarding in terms of how to be positioned
…
Dow Jones Masochism
by ilene - May 30th, 2010 3:25 pm
Dow Jones Masochism
Courtesy of Joshua M. Brown, The Reformed Broker
Brett Arends has a story up over at WSJ that makes the case for more pain – that the March ’09 bottom wasn’t quite painful enough to have been THE bottom for this cycle. The article’s an amusement park for shorts, but does a nice job categorizing the items that could lead to another brutal beating for stocks.
The slide that began in 1969 didn’t end until 1982. The slump after 1929 didn’t give way until the late 1940s. Japan’s gloom is still with us.
In general, the bigger the bull-market boom, the bigger and nastier the bear market that follows. The bull market of the ’80s and ’90s was the biggest on record. So expect the bear that follows to be ugly and tenacious.
And for some perspective, Lisa Haney throws in this Dow Jones Industrial Average bear market guide…
The 2007-2009 plunge is the worst on record, but according to some, not nearly damaging enough considering the run-up in asset prices that preceeded it.
Source:
May’s Big Selloff Could Be Just The Beginning (WSJ)
TECHNICAL PERSPECTIVE: WHERE’S THE VOLUME?
by Chart School - May 29th, 2010 9:35 pm
TECHNICAL PERSPECTIVE: WHERE’S THE VOLUME?
Courtesy of The Pragmatic Capitalist
By Decision Point:
FROM A SUBSCRIBER: Hi Carl. I’ve never written but have followed you for many years (since AOL) and have learned more about reading the market from you than any other source. You have such a clear and common sense view that it is really refreshing. I love the new daily blogs and am so glad Erin is learning the ropes. I would write her directly, but don’t see her email address anywhere. I rarely disagree with what is said, but in this case I am very suspicious of a bullish interpretation of today’s (May 27) rally, mostly due to the low volume. It seems more like a bear market, short covering rally to me. Was wondering what you think of the volume issue. Thanks for any comments.
Thanks for the compliment!
I try not to engage in discussions in order to reconcile differences of opinion about the
After several days of sloppy, downward-sliding price action, on Thursday the market finally had the first day of what could be a full rebound from very oversold conditions. Sloppy action in oversold conditions signals a very dangerous situation, one from which a crash can result, and on Thursday we breathed our first conditional sigh of relief.
While we have emphasized the danger involved “buying into weakness” with oversold markets, we have believed that the odds favor an end to the correction because we are technically in a long-term bull
It is true that volume was pathetic, but volume has been unimpressive throughout this bull market, and for Thursday there is also the issue of the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. People are leaving town early.
We can also see a clear descending wedge pattern, a bullish pattern which has a high reliability for resolving to the upside.
Most important is our philosophy that price is primary, breadth and volume are secondary. Not that we don’t look at breadth and volume, but they need to be subjectively interpreted based upon the bull or bear bias of the market. As a result, none of our mechanical timing…
SP Futures Daily Chart and a Brief Note Ahead of the Comex Option Expiry.
by ilene - May 24th, 2010 4:00 pm
SP Futures Daily Chart and a Brief Note Ahead of the Comex Option Expiry.
Courtesy of JESSE’S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN
The SP is continuing its bounce off the long term trendline for this leg of the bull market in stocks, the result of the reflation effort by the Fed.
Stocks showed some remarkably artificial action last week that was a bit hard to miss.
Similarly, gold and silver continue to rebound from the blatant hammering they took last week as we approach the option expiration at the COMEX. A fellow that trades there said last week that the price would be back over 1200 by Wednesday, and that the option buyers ‘were just asking for it.’
Perhaps they were, but it is the job of the CFTC and the US government to make sure that they don’t "get it," that is, get cheated, at least not that easily, through the obvious manipulation of price which we have seen in the last week. It would be as if the Nevada Gaming Commission allowed false dealing and marked decks to facilitate the casinos cheating their customers, who were dismissed as greedy gamblers anyway. Why this argument is allowed in the financial markets is beyond me.
The sellers are easily identified, as are the sellers of the calls, and the large short interests. This is not rocket science. It is a failure to do one’s job, and uphold their sworn oaths to protect the public. You can judge their motives.
"The government is the potent omnipresent teacher. For good or ill it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. To declare that the end justifies the means — to declare that the government may commit crimes — would bring terrible retribution."
Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis
ROSENBERG: 400 POINT RALLIES ARE A REASON TO BE BEARISH
by ilene - May 13th, 2010 9:59 pm
ROSENBERG: 400 POINT RALLIES ARE A REASON TO BE BEARISH
Courtesy of The Pragmatic Capitalist
Excellent note this afternoon from the always cheerful David Rosenberg. Mr. Rosenberg notes that 400 point rallies and increased volatility are not the signs of a bull market, but rather a bear market! Rosenberg writes:
“The obvious question is: how can the bull market possibly be over considering that we enjoyed that amazing 405-point rally on the Dow just three days ago (Monday, May 10)? Wasn’t that an exclamation mark that the bull is alive and well?
Far from it. There have been no fewer than 16 such rallies of 400 points or more in the past, and 12 of them occurred during the brutal burst of the credit bubble and the other four took place around the tech wreck a decade ago. See Chart 2 below.
In other words, the most valuable information contained in last week’s intense volatility, underscored by the 400-plus point bounce in the Dow, is that it’s time to take chips off the table and brace for the breakdown. “
While traders have become very euphoric about the prospects of the recovery and the continuation of the bull market now that government’s around the world have saved the day (once again!) Rosenberg notes that huge spikes like the recent move in the VIX are not bullish signs at all, but rather preceded major market downturns:
Buckle up boys and girls. Last Thursday might have only been an appetizer.
Source: Gluskin Sheff
More On Yesterday’s Plunge
by ilene - May 7th, 2010 5:38 pm
More On Yesterday’s Plunge
Courtesy of Karl Denninger, The Market Ticker
If you had any doubt about what I have been talking about during this entire ramp job off 666 – that the so-called "bull market" was in fact not much more than a handful of institutions buying shares with free Fed money and passing them between one another hoping to distribute them to you - you should be thoroughly disabused of your skepticism after yesterday.
"Revenge of the algorithms" writ large, basically.
We keep talking about how financial innovation has "helped consumers", "helped businesses" and "made markets more efficient."
Let me put this in nice, large letters for you:
That claim is one big fat LIE.
If you need anything more after yesterday to understand that all these "algos" have done is create systemic risk and permit a handful of very large institutions to siphon off more and more of your money into their pockets like an insane hoover vacuum cleaner on steroids, you need a lobotomy.
The crooners are of course out in force this morning, among them Jeff Immelt:
“This is a point in time when the world needs the U.S. to be a beacon of stability, a beacon of reliability,” Immelt said during an interview at the 92nd Street Y in New York with Norman Pearlstine, chairman of Bloomberg Businessweek. “The world doesn’t need the U.S. in a food fight right now, with everything that’s going on in Europe. We should be the safe harbor.”
But what’s his definition of this? Why, to make sure GE can continue to siphon off more and more money from the productive economy via GE Capital!
“Financial services is a very important industry in this country,” Immelt said. “Goldman Sachs has been a partner to GE for a long time. We trust them, they’ve done great work for us.”
Yep – hinky derivatives deals are great for Goldman, and might be great for GE as well. For the rest of the world that actually produces something? Not so much.
“This point about damning Wall Street isn’t good for the American economy,” Immelt said.
“Some theoreticians that convinced themselves that you can have a great, productive country
…
Toppy Tuesday – Happy Anniversary Bull Market!
by Phil - March 9th, 2010 8:26 am
It’s hard to believe that just one year ago today investors thought the world was ending!
Well, not all investors – we were BUYBUYBUYing at the time, as I recapped back in September whan we did our "Market Crash – Year One Review." Click on Cramer’s picture for the Daily Show’s March 4th, 2009 review of the magical moments that led us down to the bottom and here’s another great video from the evening broadcast on March 9th and, of course, there is my own legendary appearance on LiveStock from March 6th, but that’s summarized in the crash link, so save yourself 3 hours, although the first 10 minutes are worth it for people who want to learn about our buy/write strategy as I explained the logic of it as I recommended FAS at $2.41 using those hedges.
And what a wild year it has been as we’ve made an epic recovery. The only question is – have we come too far too fast? Should we be up 75% from our March 9th lows? We are still down 25% from our highs but let’s keep in mind that we made those highs thinking AIG was MAKING money, that FNM and FRE were great stocks for your retirement virtual portfolio, that Kirk Kirkorean was going to rescue GM, that BZH wasn’t some kind of scam, that BSC, LEH et al were "the smartest guys in the room." I urge you to click on Cramer and listen to the idiocy of the analysts who would tell you everything is all right even as it was all falling apart around them – why does everyone suddenly trust them again?
How could we not love this market? Markets do this sort of thing all the time don’t they? It’s all part of the "efficient pricing model" that always lets you know what a stock is truly worth like when GE was "worth" $30 in 2008 and "worth" $6 in 2009 and is now "worth" $16. This is not some biotech folks – this is GE, they’ve been around for 100 years and they have $170Bn in global sales. Did they really drop 80% in value in 2009? No. That’s why it was easy to pick a bottom – the valuations got ridiculous and, as fundamentalists, we siezed on the opportunity to BUYBUYBUY despite the negative sentiment.
Now, we are in a very different situation. Now…
TIM BOND: EQUITY INVESTORS ARE DANCING ON THE EDGE OF THE VOLCANO
by ilene - February 10th, 2010 12:21 pm
TIM BOND: EQUITY INVESTORS ARE DANCING ON THE EDGE OF THE VOLCANO
Courtesy of The Pragmatic Capitalist
Tim
“Never has a bull market climbed a steeper wall of worry. Despite a proliferation of positive economic indicators, the consensus remains resolutely gloomy. Bullish economists are still rarer than hens’ teeth. The average forecast for Q3 US GDP growth is an anaemic 0.8% increase, which would be by far the slowest first quarter of any recovery on record.”
He couldn’t have been much more accurate. The economic landscape is quickly changing, however, and Bond’s outlook is turning decidedly less optimistic. Bond now believes the problem of debt is becoming contagious in Europe and that higher bond yields will accompany the process:
“Fiscal dynamics point towards higher government bond yields in many economies, including the UK and US. History is unequivocal in linking fiscal deterioration to higher yields. This point is clearly becoming recognized by investors. As a result, a contagious process has started, during which risk premia in bonds, equities and currencies adjust higher to reflect the fiscal situation. This process is unlikely to remain confined to southern Europe, but will eventually embrace all those economies with sizeable budget deficits.”
Bond has argued for much of the last year that low rates and de-leveraging were actually very bullish for equities. As monetary policy begins to shift and fiscal policy remains imprudent the landscape is shifting. Like Teun Draaisma, Bond is concerned about the impending higher rate environment that will accompany global rate increases and continuing risks associated with an indebted global economy. Bond argues the long-term situation remains unfavorable for 3 primary reasons:
- 1) The majority of the G20 is a fiscal mess
- 2) Demographic trends of the G20 are highly negative
- 3) Containing the long-term government debt problem will be painful
Most alarming to Bond, however, is the close relationship between high…
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Philip R. Davis is a founder Phil's Stock World, a stock and options trading site that teaches the art of options trading to newcomers and devises advanced strategies for expert traders...
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