The question of the day-
âWe flagged all periods since 1948 when the unemployment rate increased by greater than or equal to 0.6 percentage points over a 12 month period. There have been 10 prior episodes where this has occurred. In all ten prior episodes we were in recession . . . ALL 10! This is the eleventh such occurrence. It could be different this time but as we wait to find out, I think it is prudent to lower the risk in our equity portfolio.â (Myles Zyblock)?
The Answer of the day-
âSince 1949 every government-sponsored stimulus package has worked.â Stoney
From raymond james research-
This point counter-point recession question is precisely what the various markets are struggling with currently, which is why they too have had a point counter point. Consider this â we wrote about the Dow Theory âSell Signalâ that was registered on November 21, 2007 indicating the DJIA has been in a bear market since July 19, 2007. That was one of the reasons we began the new year in a pretty cautious mode and with an oversized cash position. Our other reasons for caution that we thought would get more clarity later in the year were: the housing situation; the subprime contagion; the political environment; and whether the under saved/overspent U.S. consumer is finally sated with debt.
However, we wrote about the equity marketâs positive counter-point in our January 7, 2008 report, noting:
âThe last time the Fed reliquidfied the system like this equities were over valued, while bonds, commodities, and real estate were under valued. Today the opposite is true. Indeed, using the Fed Model, which compares equities âearnings yieldâ (earnings ÷ price) to the yield of the 10 year Tânote, shows equitiesâ âearnings yieldâ is over 4% greater than the benchmark Tânoteâs yield (according to a study of 29 various countries compiled by Lehman Brothers). The last time such a wide dispersion occurred was back in September 1974 right before the equity markets rallied strongly. While other valuation metrics (price to book, price to dividends, price to sales, etc.) are nowhere near as âcheapâ as they were in 1974, it is worth noting the Fed Modelâs current valuation in light of the probability of lower short-term interest rates. We mention the Fed Model this morning for while we are cautious, we think itâs a mistake to become too bearish.â
Surprisingly, last week we received another positive counter-point for equities from a savvy seer who stated:
âJeff, I thought you may find the attached of interest. You may be familiar with Ford Equity Research, one of the oldest independent equity research firms utilizing a dividend discount model to value equities since 1970, as well as indices. When fear and anxiety overwhelm Wall Street, I like to take a more objective view and lean towards valuation and numbers that minimizes the emotions from the decision making process. That being said, barring a black swan event, based upon Ford Equityâs model there have been few times (~3) in the past 30 years that the S&P 500 has been as cheap as it is today, and never in that time frame has a significant decline continued from these current valuation levels.â
So where does all this leave us? Well, it seems to us as though the equity markets put in a bottom of at least near-term significance on January 23rd when the DJIA recorded its second largest daily point swing in history from down more than 300 points in the morning to up nearly 300 points on the closing bell (the largest daily point swing since July of 2002). Indeed, we think the envisioned âselling stampedeâ ended on that date in session 18 of the typical 17- to 25-session âselling stampedeâ and are treating those late-January âlowsâ as the internal lows until proven wrong. Moreover, it is worth noting that a $10 per barrel drop in the price of crude oil is worth an additional one point of P/E multiple expansion for the S&P 500, or a 200-point rally. Further, the DJIAâs closing low of January 22, 2008 (11971) remains un-violated on the downside, as does the D-J Transportation Averageâs low of 4140, and until those âinternal lowsâ are breached, we are trading off of those lows bullishly.
As for individual stocks, we were pleased to see that the astute BlackRock organization filed on our Delta Petroleum (DPTR/$21.80/Strong Buy), acknowledging that it owns a large amount of shares. For the more timid types, it should be noted that DPTR has a convertible bond yielding 3.5% (terms should be checked before purchase). We also like our investment position in Strong Buy-rated Schering Plough (SGP/$19.77); except in this case we are using the 7.7%-yielding convertible preferred âBâ shares. While this preferred is a relatively new one, we think the risk/reward metrics are similar to the last Schering Plough convertible preferred we owned, which provided us a total return of nearly 30% per annum over our two-year holding period. Like before, the common shares of SGP have recently been devastated because of the fallible âEnhanceâ study on Vytorin. Our doctor, as well as our analyst, suggests this study encompassed far too small a sample of participants and that Schering Ploughâs Vytorin is still a good drug. As always, the terms of the convertible preferred should be checked before purchase.
The call for this week: We think the equity markets are involved in a downside retest of last Januaryâs âlows.â Our notes suggest that six of 10 such retests âseeâ a slightly lower âlowâ combined with a selling volume dry-up. Consequently, we are treating the late-January âlowsâ as THE near-term âlowsâ until proven wrong . . .
:: On Wednesday January 23rd, when the DJIA had its second largest daily point-swing in history (600 points) and closed âupâ nearly 300 points after a 300-point early session slide, we concluded that the selling stampede was ending (on day 20 of the envisioned stampede). We therefore recommended buying some trading, as well as investment, positions on that Wednesday. The vehicles of choice were the Ultra S&P 500 ProShares (SSO/$74.48) and the Ultra Real Estate ProShares (URE/$35.70). Subsequently, we recommended buying a second tranche of these positions last Monday as our confidence grew that the rally would extend.
We also recommended select investment positions, the most recent being Strong Buy-rated Schering Plough (SGP/$20.57), except in this case we are using the 7.7%-yielding convertible preferred âBâ shares. While this preferred is a relatively new one, we think the risk/reward metrics are similar to the last Schering Plough convertible preferred we owned, which provided us a total return of nearly 30% per annum over our two-year holding period. Like before, the common shares of SGP have recently been devastated because of the fallible âEnhanceâ study on Vytorin. Our doctor, as well as our analyst, suggests this study encompassed far too small a sample of participants and that Schering Ploughâs Vytorin is still a good drug. As always, the terms of the convertible preferred should be checked before purchase.
Other recent investment recommendations were 8%-yielding EV Energy Partners (EVEP/$28.39/ Outperform), Delta Petroleum (DPTR/$21.34/Strong Buy), Interoil (IOC/$22.63/Strong Buy), and Cogent (COGT/$10.03/Strong Buy), all of which have some kind of upcoming news that we think might provide an upside catalyst. Do these recommendations mean we think the difficult market environment is over? Not really, but we do believe the Fed, the banks, the politicians, et all, have a vested interest in preventing a recession and are pulling out all of the tools at their discretion. Whether they will be successful remains to be seen, but in the near term it looks like the various markets believe they will.
To this recession point, as I sit here in Jackson Hole staring out at the Grand Tetons from my friendâs house, we are discussing business. Mark owns a specialty steel company. When I asked him how business was he responded, âWhat recession?!â âIndeed,â he continued, âOur business is smoking.....
me too buddy, me too! ~ si