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Bears In Lamborghinis

bear in lamborghiniI remember 2006 very well. I was going around telling people the following,  “Listen guys, this is unsustainable, this market is in a crazy bubble driven primarily by mortgage finance and it will blow up soon”.   Most didn’t care and those who did called me “Boy who cried wolf”.

Fair enough. I decided to take matters into my own hands by shorting subprime mortgage lenders and multiple other real estate related companies that I believed are nothing more than a pile of stinky (but worthless) mortgage paper. Yet, the companies kept going up throughout 2006 and early 2007. Not only going up, they kept surging up like they were the best investments in the world. This was before my timing work and I was feeling miserable. My research was 100% accurate, yet the market was going the other way.  When these stocks did finally collapse in the summer of 2008, they have collapsed within weeks. With one stock price going from as high as $87 to as low as ZERO (filed for bankruptcy) in 11 trading days. I was vindicated, but it didn’t matter.

What’s the point of this story?

Even though I am currently a huge bear based on fundamental, macro and timing analysis, I do not currently hold a short position.  Quite the opposite. I am long the market, but solely based on my timing work.  My mathematical work clearly illustrates that a severe (3 year) bear market is starting in 2014 to complete in 2017. Before that happens, I feel the pain the bears are going through. Of course, they are right but they are suffering through the most difficult stage of all…. market blow off top.  This is the time where there are almost no bears left. Most of them have been killed.  Case and point.

S&P 500 Will Be at 2,000 Sooner Than You Think article that not only makes fun of the bears, but claims that everyone is bearish and that’s why S&P will hit 2000 soon. Well, maybe everyone is bearish if you can find any bears left. I don’t know of any. Even permabears have turned bullish.  

 

Perhaps he is talking about Carl Icahn who has turned bearish CARL ICAHN: The Stock Market Could See A ‘Big Drop’ And I’m ‘Very Cautious’

To moral of the story is this. With the market surging ever higher, this is the most difficult time to be a bear.  Every bear looks like a complete idiot and loser. Yet, as the saying goes, it is always darkest before the dawn.  True bears who maintain their position at this time will soon be greatly rewarded.  So much so that every true bear will be able to afford a Lamborghini.   

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What You Ought To Know About Today’s Bull Orgy

Bloomberg Writes: Junk Glistens Under ‘Bernankecare’ as Worst Stocks Win

bull orgy investwithalex

Carl Giannone says he’s given up hunting for quality stocks. Now he’s simply riding the wave of upward momentum in the U.S. market. “It’s a game of musical chairs,” said Giannone, who manages an equities team at T3 Trading Group LLC in New York. “You just want to make sure you can sit down.”

The Federal Reserve’s near-zero interest rate turns five years old next month, the longest period without an increase in history. Coupled with more than $3 trillion of asset purchases, it adds up to “Bernankecare,” said Joshua Brown, chief executive officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management in New York. And it’s causing parts of the market to behave strangely. Stocks of companies with weak balance sheets are rising twice as fast as stronger ones; junk borrowers get rates lower than their investment-grade counterparts did before the credit crisis; and initial public offerings are doubling on their first day of trading.

While in the minority, some investors say prices have climbed so high it’s possible to look ahead and see an ugly end.Laurence Fink, chief executive officer of BlackRock Inc., the biggest U.S. money manager, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Nov. 12 that he feared a bubble and the Fed ought to quit buying so many securities.

Read The Rest Of The Article Here

Have you ever seen a real bull orgy? I haven’t, but a fathom it would be a fairly gross site to feast your eyes upon. Luckily for you can see an artificial one by turning on CNBC or reading any other kind of financial media. Bulls are salivating over each other, predicting the DOW at 20,000, 25K, 50K, to infinity and beyond. It’s quite entertaining to watch.

The article above is right on the money. At this stage everything is in the speculative bubble that will pop and it has become a game of musical chairs. However, that is not why I bring this up. I want to point your attention to a psychological breakdown of market participants. We all know the saying “Buy Low Sell High” or “Buy When There Is Blood On The Streets”, yet not a single person I know actually does it. 

Case and point, March 2009 bottom. Not a single person I know, not on TV or elsewhere advocated buying. No, they were all talking about the end of the world, how low the market will go and what stocks to short best. The blood was running on the street, the stocks were being given away and these fools couldn’t see the forest through the trees. Now the situation is completely reversed. When everyone should be selling and/or going short, everyone is screaming BUY, BUY, BUY.  It’s a fools game and if you buy today you are that fool.  I guess human psychology, the primary driver behind the stock market, will never change.

With such a backdrop it is very nice to know exactly when the Bear leg of 2014-2017 will start and the damage it will do. While Bulls are busy having their orgy, the market is getting ready for a massive haircut. You have been warned. 

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Warning: The Bear Makret Is Coming. Top In Early 2014

Bloomberg Writes: Stock Funds Lure Most Cash in 13 Years as Market Rallies

 money flowing investwithalex

Investors are pouring more money into stock mutual funds in the U.S. than they have in 13 years, attracted by a market near record highs and stung by bond losses that would deepen if interest rates keep rising.

“The timing of retail investors tends to be terrible,” said Jonathan Pond, an independent financial adviser in Newton, Massachusetts, who oversees $200 million. The deposits may be a contrarian indicator of a market near a top, he said.

Jeremy Grantham, chief investment strategist at Boston-based money manager Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co., told clients in a letter this week, “We will have the third in the series of serious market busts since 1999.” BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Officer Laurence D. Fink said this month that stocks may decline as much as 15 percent because of political risks in China, Japan, France and the U.S.

Read The Rest Of The Article

As the melt up in the stock market continues, retail investors are the last ones to join the party. As always. As the article indicates, last time we had similar inflows was at the end of 1999 and early 2000 or right before the tech collapse and the subsequent recession.

I would go even further and suggest that today’s investor psychological backdrop is identical to that of 2000 top.  For example, even though multiple high performing investors did spot the technology bubble and have tried to warn the others, for the most part they were completely ignored until it was too late.  It was the “NEW” economy the old guard did not understand.  Today’s environment is identical, except one fact. Instead of it being the NEW economy, today most markets participants believe that the FED can control the economy and its interest rates. That is of course a mirage that they will pay for dearly. Overall, the bullish sentiment is off the charts. As always, retail investors will lose the most as soon as the bear market kicks in.

As I have stated so many times before, the bear market will start in March of 2014 and will take 3 years to complete. While it will not be a violent move to the downside, it will shave off about 30-50% from today’s market prices over the next few years.  You have been warned.  

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PIMCO Shares a Valuable Tip

CNBC Writes: Gross: The stock market and asset prices are ‘bubbly’

 drastically-overpriced-investwithalex

Bill Gross, the co-chief investment officer of Pimco, said he thinks the stock market and “all asset prices are bubbly.”

“Bond prices, stock prices … and profit margins are bubbly to the extent that [if] any of them can be sustained, I guess, is the ultimate test,” Gross said on CNBC Wednesday.

He said the Federal Reserve‘s QE program is a “rather blunt instrument in terms of elevating, and perhaps, bubbling stock prices.”

“Margin debt is at historic levels to the extent that they want to simmer down equity prices [but] they don’t have to attack it through tapering … they can raise margin requirements.”

“The bond market is bubbly because the policy rate at 25 basis points is artificially suppressed. Investors and savers are not receiving what they have historically … in historical terms would probably be around 2 to 2.5 percent,” he said.

I have very little to add here. Mr. Gross is right on the money. I have been saying this for a while as well, everything is overpriced. Big time. The only thing I will add into the mix is my timing and mathematical work. Once again, it is predicting the beginning of a severe Bear Market that will only end  in 2016. There is no stopping it. 

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The Secret Behind The 5-Year Cycle & The Bear Market Of 2014

Dow Jones Long Term Chart 2

There is a prominent 5 Year stock market cycle that oscillates between the bull and the bear markets. While the cycle does show up as a bear cycle at various points, for the most part this cycle is more clearly identifiable during the bull stage. Let’s take a quick look. More importantly, let’s see what does this cycle can tell us about the future. (We are looking at the DOW)

  1. 1982-1987 From 1982 bear market bottom to pre crash 1987 the cycle lasted exactly 263 week and moved up 1977 points. That is exactly 5 Years + 10 trading days.
  2. 1994-2000 From 1994 bottom on 11/23/1994 to 01/14/2000 the market advanced 8296 points in exactly 1298 trading days. So, this cycle lasted 5 Years +32 trading days.
  3. 2002-2007 From 2002 bottom  on 10/10/2002 to 10/11/2007 top the market advanced 7209 points in exactly 1259 trading days or EXACTLY 5 years.
  4. 2009-2013/14  From 2009 bottom on 03/06/2009 to 9/18/2013 (or march 2014)  the market advanced 9241 points in 1144 days (so far).

AMAZING, isn’t it? I mean we are talking about exact hits. Bottom to top. If you go back and study the market before 1982 you will find the same cycle showing up again and again. The slight deviation by a few trading days at the end of each cycle is caused by other cycles arriving around the same time. Just by knowing this one 5 year cycle you can predict what the market will do and beat 95% of the pros.  

Now, let me warn you. This cycle is not as easy as just timing the 5 year period of time. There is something behind the scenes that causes this cycle to happen. As of right now, I cannot discuss what causes this in the public forum, but the chart above doesn’t lie. Just more prove that the market can be predicted to the day.

I confirm that another 5 year cycle has indeed started at March 2009 bottom. It is due to complete in March of 2014. However, my other work is showing that the DOW has probably already topped in September of 2013.  There is a lot of interference right now.  

As such, this leads me to believe that the DOW will oscillate here over the next few months until some sort of a top is set in March of 2014 (maybe a little bit higher or lower than September 2013 top). Thereafter, the market should resume its bear market and go down hard into the 2016/17 lows. 

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The Secret Behind 5-Year Cycle & The Bear Market Of 2014

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Why Is Warren Buffett So Upset?

Reuters Writes: Buffett calls threat to not raise U.S. debt limit a ‘political weapon of mass destruction

Nuclear_explosion_investwithalex

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway (NYS:BRK-A – News), said Wednesday that the threat of not raising the U.S. debt ceiling is a political weapon.

The idea that Congress could fail to raise the $16.7 trillion U.S. borrowing limit is a “political weapon of mass destruction,” Buffett told cable television network CNBC.

Buffett said Berkshire Hathaway owns short-term Treasury bills and is “not worried” about the bills being paid, despite concerns about the U.S. debt ceiling.

Of course Mr. Buffett is correct. What happened in Washington over the last couple of weeks is nothing short of a disaster. An absolute disaster. What Mr. Buffett forgot to mention is that this “political weapon of mass destruction” has already gone off.

Surely, the US will not default on its debt. In my previous posts I have clearly stated that neither the market nor should you care about that. The damage has already been done and will be eventually felt on a different front.  This front has to do with our creditors.  I bet you my left leg that this situation was very closely watched and analyzed by both Japan and China (two of our biggest creditors). 

Their conclusion will be very simple. Washington is being run by idiots who have no problem putting the wealth and the future of our countries at risk. Therefore, we should diversify.  I bet you my right leg that these countries will start to lessen their US Debt exposure (if they haven’t started already) as soon as possible. Interest rates will go up and that will cause a significant slow down in the US Economy and a substantial DROP in the financial markets.

BOOM. Thank you Washington.  


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Hey Bernanke, Thanks For All The Drugs

BusinessWeek Writes: Thanking the Fed, Reservedly, for Investors’ Bounty

ben bernanke
Would You Like Another Kilo?

 

Don’t look at me like that—Walgreen (WAG) went full-yuletide in August. In any case, should you find yourself looking at your 401(k) for the first time since the Subprime Swoon, be Thanksgivingukkah-grateful for the extraordinary largesse of this Federal Reserve.

Thanks to outgoing Fed Chairmen Ben Bernanke and the nominee to replace him, Janet Yellen, and their colleagues taking down interest rates to near-zero five years ago and keeping them there—on top of the Fed’s nearly $4 trillion of creative asset purchases—investors have enjoyed the restoration of more than $13 trillion in U.S. equity market value. That’s called multiplier effect. And it’s also called remorse, if you were one of the record numbers who bolted stocks altogether and are scrambling to get back in now, after indexes have more than doubled. It’s also called financial repression if you’re a saver having to eat negative real rates on your hard-earned cash.

Read The Rest Of The Article

I have no words. You have got to be f#&*$ kidding me.  I don’t know how many times I have to say this, but thanking Bernanke or the FED would be equivalent to thanking your drug dealer for getting you hooked on crack cocaine, or thanking a hooker for giving you AIDS or thanking God for helping you get home again while driving drunk.

All of these things might feel good at the moment, but they will eventually catch up and kill you. What most people do not understand is that by pumping a tremendous amount of money into the economy over the last 2 decades, the FED has created bubble after bubble in various asset classes.  All while undermining the overall economy.

The stimulus works great until it doesn’t work anymore. We are at that point. With massive amounts of credit flooding the system, the velocity of that money is having less and less impact. When the tide turns, there will be hell to pay not only for the people who are directly involved in the scheme, but for everyone. Not only for the US Economy, but now for the global economy. Everyone.

The sad part is, all of this was preventable is we had the fortitude to stick to sound economic principals. Instead we have a bunch of whack jobs on every level of our government whose sole purpose is to max out our credit cards and kick the can down the road. The upcoming bear market of 2014-2017 will make all of this very clear. 

Did you enjoy this article? If so, please share our blog with your friends as we try to get traction. Gratitude!!! 

 

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The Secret Behind Upcoming Stock Market Top

Bloomberg Writes: Stock Funds Lure Most Cash in 13 Years as Market Rallies

 money flowing investwithalex

Investors are pouring more money into stock mutual funds in the U.S. than they have in 13 years, attracted by a market near record highs and stung by bond losses that would deepen if interest rates keep rising.

“The timing of retail investors tends to be terrible,” said Jonathan Pond, an independent financial adviser in Newton, Massachusetts, who oversees $200 million. The deposits may be a contrarian indicator of a market near a top, he said.

Jeremy Grantham, chief investment strategist at Boston-based money manager Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co., told clients in a letter this week, “We will have the third in the series of serious market busts since 1999.” BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Officer Laurence D. Fink said this month that stocks may decline as much as 15 percent because of political risks in China, Japan, France and the U.S.

Read The Rest Of The Article

As the melt up in the stock market continues, retail investors are the last ones to join the party. As always. As the article indicates, last time we had similar inflows was at the end of 1999 and early 2000 or right before the tech collapse and the subsequent recession.

I would go even further and suggest that today’s investor psychological backdrop is identical to that of 2000 top.  For example, even though multiple high performing investors did spot the technology bubble and have tried to warn the others, for the most part they were completely ignored until it was too late.  It was the “NEW” economy the old guard did not understand.  Today’s environment is identical, except one fact. Instead of it being the NEW economy, today most markets participants believe that the FED can control the economy and its interest rates. That is of course a mirage that they will pay for dearly. Overall, the bullish sentiment is off the charts. As always, retail investors will lose the most as soon as the bear market kicks in.

As I have stated so many times before, the bear market will start in March of 2014 and will take 3 years to complete. While it will not be a violent move to the downside, it will shave off about 30-50% from today’s market prices over the next few years.  You have been warned.  

Did you enjoy this article? If so, please share our blog with your friends as we try to get traction. Gratitude!!!  

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What Everybody Ought To Know About Upcoming Emerging Market Crisis

BusinessWeek Writes: Bad Loans Could Spark an Emerging-Markets Crisis

emerging markets investwithaelx

The world’s largest emerging markets recovered quickly from the 2008 financial crisis because consumers and companies went on a borrowing binge. Now, as those economies cool, bad loans are haunting banks from Turkey to South Africa. India is injecting money into state-run lenders facing a huge rise in soured debt, and Chinese banks have been told to increase provisions against lending losses. “Credit growth in emerging markets has been phenomenal since 2008,” says Satyajit Das, author of a half-dozen books on financial risk.

He blames near-zero-percent interest rates in the U.S. and other developed nations, which have kept borrowing costs artificially low. “Many borrowers will struggle to repay the debt,” he says. “We’re ripe for a new emerging-market crisis.”

Read The Rest Of The Article

Could spark an emerging-markets crisis? You think?  How about will spark an emerging-market crisis. How about its already happening in countries like India with their currency being in a free fall.  

This is a systemic issue that comes from a singular source of low interest rates propagated by the FED. Of course everyone will borrow as much as they can when financing is flowing freely and interest rates are close to zero.  Particularly those in a week financial position. It allows them to survive for a little bit longer and they have nothing to lose. Yet, there is no chance in hell that these companies or borrowers can ever repair these loans.  Particularly not when both the US Economy and its financial markets are facing strong headwinds. The outcome? Massive defaults and substantial equity price declines in most emerging markets. 

Especially when you take the 2014-2017 bear market in the US into consideration (forecasted based on my mathematical timing work). While the US market is set for a 30-50% haircut, most emerging markets will not fare as well. 

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Stunning Obama Admission. US Economic Depression Is Coming

Huffington Post Writes: Larry Summers’ Desperate Depression-Fighting Idea May Soon Be Reality

Learning From History

If you think people who save money are being punished by low interest rates, wait until they have to deal with negative interest rates.

Slashing rates well below zero to make it painful not to spend money is the desperate approach to avoiding an economic depression recently endorsed by Larry Summers, President Obama’s former top economic advisor and one-time pick to run the Federal Reserve. With economic growth likely to be weak for the next infinity, the job market stubbornly awful and inflation disappearing, central bankers around the world have been toying with the idea for a while. Every day it gets closer to being a reality.

Read The Rest Of The Article Here.

Well, there you have it.

First, why are they talking about a depression?  If you listen to Bernanke, Yellen and/or Obama you would believe things are great and getting better. Unemployment is down, economy is up, stock markets are surging, etc….   What the hell do they mean by “desperate approach to avoiding an economic depression.”  Is Larry Summers on drugs?

Maybe the FED’s are not as stupid as I make them out to be.  If that is true, that makes them liars and criminals, committing economic crimes against the American people. Technically speaking that is exactly what they are doing. Uhmmmm, moving on before I get a call from NSA……

Listen, they know what they did and they know what is coming. The only way to combat that is to continue pumping a tremendous amount of money into the economy while hoping that interest rates stay low. However, they are running out of options.  Given current economic backdrop there isn’t that much more they can do.  Will bringing interest rates down to zero work ?

The answer is NO. Japan has tried that for 20 years without any success.  All they succeeded at is destroying their economy while trying to stimulate it. Here is the kicker….

Everyone, and I mean everyone believes that the markets behave based on what the FED does. Everyone believes that the FED’s can control and manipulate financial markets at will. That is the biggest and the most dangerous misconception everyone has. It might look that way, but they do not.

Remember 2007-09? Eventually markets will readjust on their own accord. When they do, there will be hell to pay. With or without 0% interest rates. The bear market is coming in 2014. 

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