What Bull Market? A Closer Look at the Most Recent âBullâ Run
http://usmarket.seekingalpha.com/article/31271
Posted on Apr 2nd, 2007 with stocks: DIA, DXD, GLD, IAU, QID, QQQQ, SPY, USO
Charting Stocks submits: âAll great inflations end with the acceptance of real moneyâgoldâand the rejection of political moneyâpaper. The stage is now set; monetary order is of the utmost importance. Conditions are deteriorating, and the solutions proposed to date have only made things worse. Although the solution is readily available to us, powerful forces whose interests are served by continuation of the present system cling tenaciously to a monetary system that no longer has any foundation. The time at which there will be no other choice but to reject the current system entirely is fast approaching. Although that moment is unknown to us, the course that we continue to pursue will undoubtedly hurtle us into a monetary abyss that will mandate a major reform.â (Rep. Ron Paul & Lewis Lehrman, The Case for Gold: A Minority Report of the United States Gold Commission, The Ludwig Von Mises Institute)
The âBull Marketâ in stocks which began in 2002 and ended in March of this year was an illusion caused by a weakened U.S. dollar, massive price inflation (ie real estate, stocks, commodities) and historically low interest rates which caused a sea of cash and liquidity to drive up asset prices.
If we can remember back to early 2001, Greenspan was extremely worried about deflation. With Japanâs deflationary crisis still fresh in his mind, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan began an aggressive rate reduction campaign. After all, one way to fight deflation is to cause inflationâwhich he succeeded in doing.
Historically low rates encouraged borrowing and spending and discouraged saving. People were using there homes as an ATM machine and spending this newly found âwealthâ on cars, more homes, and yes, the stock market. At the same time the U.S. savings rate turned negative in 2005 for the first time since the great depression. In 2006, we managed to repeat the rare accomplishment of having 2 consecutive years where the US consumer spent more than he made!
The following chart shows the yield on the 3 month treasury bill. Notice the drastic change from 6.5% in 2001 to 0.90% in 2003. In 2 years rates were reduced by 90%!!! If that wonât make the price of your Miami condo double then I donât know what will! Also take notice that through the 1990s bull market, rates were sideways or range bound.
Thereâs one economic problem with people borrowing and spending their new found moneyâThereâs a lot more dollars flooding the market. If you increase the supply of good X, youâd expect the value of good X to decline. Thatâs precisely what happened to the U.S dollar. The chart below illustrates how the value of that one-hundred dollar bill that was in your pocket in 2002 was worth only $66 or so in 2005 (33% depreciation). Again, also take notice of how the US dollar climbed through the bull market of the 1990s.
(It amazes me how people believe the fed will begin lowering rates again nowâ¦The dollar will not support it)
Below is a chart which better illustrates the stocks market and US dollar relationship through the 1990s and 2000s.
djiadollar_illus
Letâs now examine the bull market of the 1990s (a real bull market) and compare it to the 2002-2007 âBullâ.
Below is a chart of the 1990s bull market. The pink line is the price (Cash terms) of the Dow 30 and the dark line is the Dow 30 in terms of gold (Real terms). In a true bull market, youâd expect both of these lines to rise with one another, which it did in the 90s. After all, if we are making new highs in cash terms, we should be doing the same in real terms.
djia_gold_1990
The illusionary bull market of 2000s shows a much different picture. As the Dow 30 continued making new highs in cash terms, it was making new lows in real terms.
In the 1990s, as the Dow 30 was making new highs in terms of cash, as well as in terms of barrels of oil, which can also be used to measure real, or inflation-adjusted terms. Also notice that in 1999 a warning sign was given in real terms, and of course, we all remember what happened in 2000.
Same relationship through the 2000s but a much different picture.
In fact, if you look at the Dow 30 average in terms of anything other than the US dollar, you would think that the bear market, which began in 2000, still hasnât ended. In real, or inflation adjusted terms, IT HAS NOT!
http://usmarket.seekingalpha.com/article/31271
Posted on Apr 2nd, 2007 with stocks: DIA, DXD, GLD, IAU, QID, QQQQ, SPY, USO
Charting Stocks submits: âAll great inflations end with the acceptance of real moneyâgoldâand the rejection of political moneyâpaper. The stage is now set; monetary order is of the utmost importance. Conditions are deteriorating, and the solutions proposed to date have only made things worse. Although the solution is readily available to us, powerful forces whose interests are served by continuation of the present system cling tenaciously to a monetary system that no longer has any foundation. The time at which there will be no other choice but to reject the current system entirely is fast approaching. Although that moment is unknown to us, the course that we continue to pursue will undoubtedly hurtle us into a monetary abyss that will mandate a major reform.â (Rep. Ron Paul & Lewis Lehrman, The Case for Gold: A Minority Report of the United States Gold Commission, The Ludwig Von Mises Institute)
The âBull Marketâ in stocks which began in 2002 and ended in March of this year was an illusion caused by a weakened U.S. dollar, massive price inflation (ie real estate, stocks, commodities) and historically low interest rates which caused a sea of cash and liquidity to drive up asset prices.
If we can remember back to early 2001, Greenspan was extremely worried about deflation. With Japanâs deflationary crisis still fresh in his mind, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan began an aggressive rate reduction campaign. After all, one way to fight deflation is to cause inflationâwhich he succeeded in doing.
Historically low rates encouraged borrowing and spending and discouraged saving. People were using there homes as an ATM machine and spending this newly found âwealthâ on cars, more homes, and yes, the stock market. At the same time the U.S. savings rate turned negative in 2005 for the first time since the great depression. In 2006, we managed to repeat the rare accomplishment of having 2 consecutive years where the US consumer spent more than he made!
The following chart shows the yield on the 3 month treasury bill. Notice the drastic change from 6.5% in 2001 to 0.90% in 2003. In 2 years rates were reduced by 90%!!! If that wonât make the price of your Miami condo double then I donât know what will! Also take notice that through the 1990s bull market, rates were sideways or range bound.
Thereâs one economic problem with people borrowing and spending their new found moneyâThereâs a lot more dollars flooding the market. If you increase the supply of good X, youâd expect the value of good X to decline. Thatâs precisely what happened to the U.S dollar. The chart below illustrates how the value of that one-hundred dollar bill that was in your pocket in 2002 was worth only $66 or so in 2005 (33% depreciation). Again, also take notice of how the US dollar climbed through the bull market of the 1990s.
(It amazes me how people believe the fed will begin lowering rates again nowâ¦The dollar will not support it)
Below is a chart which better illustrates the stocks market and US dollar relationship through the 1990s and 2000s.
djiadollar_illus
Letâs now examine the bull market of the 1990s (a real bull market) and compare it to the 2002-2007 âBullâ.
Below is a chart of the 1990s bull market. The pink line is the price (Cash terms) of the Dow 30 and the dark line is the Dow 30 in terms of gold (Real terms). In a true bull market, youâd expect both of these lines to rise with one another, which it did in the 90s. After all, if we are making new highs in cash terms, we should be doing the same in real terms.
djia_gold_1990
The illusionary bull market of 2000s shows a much different picture. As the Dow 30 continued making new highs in cash terms, it was making new lows in real terms.
In the 1990s, as the Dow 30 was making new highs in terms of cash, as well as in terms of barrels of oil, which can also be used to measure real, or inflation-adjusted terms. Also notice that in 1999 a warning sign was given in real terms, and of course, we all remember what happened in 2000.
Same relationship through the 2000s but a much different picture.
In fact, if you look at the Dow 30 average in terms of anything other than the US dollar, you would think that the bear market, which began in 2000, still hasnât ended. In real, or inflation adjusted terms, IT HAS NOT!
