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Inside The Stock Market ...trends, cross-currents, and outlook

Sep 09 2015

The Bear Case: "Before And After"

  • Sep 9, 2015
The Major Trend Index comes down decisively in the “bear market” camp and we have positioned our tactical portfolios with net equity exposure of just 35%.
Sep 09 2015

How Far Could It Fall?

  • Sep 9, 2015
Our valuation work shows many “garden variety” cyclical bear markets bottom out fairly close to long-term median valuation levels on the S&P 500. A reversion to median valuations would entail a peak-to-trough S&P 500 loss of –21.1%.
Sep 09 2015

Recession? Too Early To Call

  • Sep 9, 2015

Among the various arguments put forward by those believing the recent decline is no more than a correction, the most difficult for us to address is the common claim that “there’s no recession on the horizon.”

Sep 09 2015

August Was No Anomaly

  • Sep 9, 2015
We might be sympathetic to the bulls’ rationalizations if the August decline had materialized out of thin air. But it didn’t. It has been many months (and probably longer) in the making.
Sep 09 2015

Expect A "Round Trip" In Sentiment

  • Sep 9, 2015

When the “most hated bull market on record” finally suffers a steep decline, it’s reasonable to expect that the hatred might evolve into true revulsion.

Sep 09 2015

"Oversold" Doesn't Mean BUY

  • Sep 9, 2015
Some of the worst declines in market history occurred after conventional market momentum readings first became deeply oversold—including 1987 and the last half of the 2008-09 collapse.
Sep 09 2015

The EM "Trap"

  • Sep 9, 2015
We expect EM valuations will undercut their 2008 lows before the current market decline has run its course. That washout might serve up the best stock market bargains in many years.
Sep 09 2015

A Page For The Bulls

  • Sep 9, 2015

While we have a high level of conviction on our August bear market call, we should emphasize that our disciplines trump opinions.

Sep 09 2015
Sep 09 2015

A Lasting Low In Crude?

  • Sep 9, 2015

In our naïve way of measuring market moves, WTI crude oil is about 15% from its $53.27 December 31st closing price. But thanks to financial television, we’re beginning to wise up.

Aug 07 2015

On High Alert

  • Aug 7, 2015

August is “National Eye Exam Month,” but this is the rare year we can confidently recommend that you skip it.

Aug 07 2015

Stock Market Observations

  • Aug 7, 2015

The U.S. stock market has largely shrugged off the latest round of worries related to China’s stock market collapse, the new down-leg in crude oil, a more hawkish tone in Fed-speak, and sizable second-quarter declines in S&P 500 sales and earnings.

Aug 07 2015

Weakening Foundation

  • Aug 7, 2015

Over the last few months, we’ve presented a couple of simple quantitative studies meant to encapsulate the factors driving our Major Trend Index to the brink of bear territory. The chart and table might provide the best summary yet.

Aug 07 2015

Fed Watching For The 21st Century

  • Aug 7, 2015

Deteriorating stock market breadth and worrisome leadership trends both suggest liquidity has already tightened; whether the Fed follows suit in September may now be just a formality.

Aug 07 2015

Too Many Highs, Too Many Lows

  • Aug 7, 2015

We’ve detailed the growing degree of stock market bifurcation, but the problem for would-be bears is that such bifurcation can reach astonishing levels (witness 1999-2000) before the market is set to peak out.

Aug 07 2015
Aug 07 2015

Emerging Markets: A Half-Off Sale!

  • Aug 7, 2015

The Chinese government’s repeated stock market intervention attempts over the past several weeks have been remarkable, and obviously antithetical to the country’s move toward a more laissez faire corporate environment.

Aug 07 2015

The 30/30 Club!

  • Aug 7, 2015

The S&P 500 Energy sector’s latest plunge puts it down by almost a third in the last 14 months. It now belongs to an exclusive list of sectors which have declined 30% on both an absolute basis and relative to the S&P 500!

Aug 07 2015
Aug 07 2015

Chinese Equity Market: Valuation Gap And Going Private

  • Aug 7, 2015

The recent capitulation of the Chinese domestic equity market (or A-shares) makes headlines almost every day. Different theories, circulating in both China and overseas, pop up frequently to explain the daily movement of A-shares. It seems the investment community gets excited when the Chinese market is on the decline (but not so much when the market is on the upswing); many investors are quite reactive to any negative news coming out of China.