Quote from makloda:
I am not posting this to ridicule anyone, but seriously: why (beyond the market clearly being extended on a short-term technical basis) do the indexes look like a bubble? Is it just because the SP500 is up like 10% this year? And 12% last year? Or like 13% annualized over the last 5 years?
IMO just because some asset class is appreciating in value it doesn't automatically make it a bubble.
Not being rude - the above captures the prevailing ignorance towards economic fundamentals. Very common around here.
2001+ marked an unprecedented explosion in the money supply, ushered in by Greenspoon.
An economy - be it national or global - can only "absorb" so much excess credit before inflation hits. When inflation hits hard, a responsible Central Bank will restrict credit (choke off demand) and the stock market will tank.
During the money pump run up, our money supply was expanding at 4 TIMES the rate of US GDP.
Think about this in laymans terms.
Imagine an "economy" that produces 5 loafs of bread. There are five participants in the economy who each have 1 dollar to spend.
How much each is loaf of bread? 1 dollar.
Now imagine we turn on our printing press and give each participant 4 extra dollars but keep the number of loafs at 5.
How much is each loaf now? 5 dollars.
This is money pump inflation.
This is essentially what happened since 2000.
The global economy has grown at a moderate rate while the global money supply has grown at a TREMENDOUS rate.
This is why hard assets are exploding (ie commodities - gold, silver, metals, grains, energy, livestock, real estate).
Commodities retain their value during credit booms because their demand remains static, in absolute terms, no matter if the dollar is strong or toilet paper. People still need grain to eat, land to live, metal to fabricate etc. Hence, commodities are a safe haven - a bulwark - against inflation.
The music will stop at some point. The fundamental laws of economics cannot be sidestepped by statistical trickery, academic cunning or Fed doublespeak.
We either end in a recession/crash with high rates. And preserve whats left of the dollars value.
Or maintain a slow edging ascent accompanied by what could very well be the worst inflationary period this generation has ever seen. The lower and middle class will get absolutely robbed as their savings are held mostly in cash or have no savings at all. Prices will skyrocket relative to wages and they'll get fucked.
This is in every bit equal to ROBBERY on a national scale and unfortunately, a possible reality.
The Fed's self-proclaimed mandate has always erred on defending the Dollars value (low inflation). Times are changing.
Bernacke may very well 'inflate his way' out of the coming Social Security/Medicare/US Debt Crunch.
Either way, the country is in for hard times.