Understanding the natural course of market cycles

Repeated Central Bank interventions between 2008 and 2014 interrupted the natural mean reversion needed to bring financial asset prices back in line with the economic fundamentals possible now after global consumers blew up on credit. Interruption is not the same thing as avoidance.

The secular bear that began in 2000 was temporarily sedated by every financial gimmick in the book, including suspending financial crime prosecution, and fair market accounting rules. But in the end, there is only one way to finally end a secular bear and that is through price declines to single digit valuations that crush the unprepared, and bring sober investment back in vogue. Participants may think they got away with defying the natural law of market cycles, but amid a plethora of garish metrics today, including a Shiller PE of 26–3 times the average found at the start of secular bulls-– the secular bear of our generation remains alive and more menacing than ever.

After a scary swoon in the middle of the month, stocks rallied strongly into the end of October, with the Dow and S&P 500 hitting new record highs on Friday. But the mid month slide did some major technical damage to the market, according to Thomas Kee, president & CEO of Stock Traders Daily, who has a very, very bearish long-term view.  Here is a direct video link.

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Mobile use now the leading cause of death on the road

Social and legal intolerance for mobile use while driving needs to reflect the same severity as driving while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Yes, it’s that serious.
Here is a direct video link.

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Word of 2014: ‘recoupling’

As the usual investment sales crowd keeps assuring everyone that a diverse basket of stocks and commodities is all one needs to ‘decouple’ and profit even as global sales plunge, the word of 2014 is ‘recoupling’.

The QE-inspired disconnect between soaring risk assets and a slowing real economy is now closing. The round trip back to reality is progress that will run its natural course of moving capital away from mindless automatons and back to the hands of those with an investment discipline and excess savings.  Decouple this…

Commodities and world GDP 2014
Chart source: www.zerohedge.com

For an excellent connect-the-global-dots perspective see:  Japan’s the tinder that set the world’s bad news on fire.

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