Another very good Article... READ!!! Understanding Why It Feels Different This Time There probably isn’t an over used phrase thrown across the media landscape than, “It’s different this time.” One can’t look at the financial markets, the political stage, and more without shaking ones head. Nothing seems to make sense. Yet if one wants to lazily answer, “It’s different this time.” Things become crystal clear. Water now seems to run uphill. The definition of words no longer mean what they once did. (we’re still marveling on what is – is) Free society means the loss of only a few freedoms per year, as opposed to everything at once. Work is a bad thing however, if someone else goes to work and pay for your things – then that’s good. You can keep your plan if you like your plan – but if we don’t like it – well – you can’t. The Federal Reserve would never monetize the debt – however if you’re a preferred dealer in the QE (quantitative easing) program – they’ll do it for you. I could go on but for brevity’s sake, I’ll stop there. I believe you get the drift. These precarious times leave many scratching their heads. It has been (and continues to be) extremely difficult to rationalize exactly what one personally, or business and investing wise should, or should not be doing. When everything one has both learned through experience or looked back through history for clues now seems irrelevant, or worse – indifferent. It truly makes one question one’s sanity as you wrestle daily with the over whelming feeling that you just may be – the only sane person in the asylum. And that is not a comforting resolution to one’s conclusions. For it begs the rebuttal: Then who’s truly the crazy one? I was asked the other day why I continue to make arguments for caution where some people at times are having a field day with the equivalent of kicking me in the shins as the financial markets rise higher, and higher, to ever higher heights? It’s a good question and I thought I’d extrapolate more on what or why I’m seeing blatant warning signs others can’t or, refuse to. Let me express why my observations cause this with the following line: When everyone is on the band wagon – except the band. You had better take notice. A few things (although very big) have changed over the past 5 years since the great market collapse. These are in no specific order of importance. First: The advent of government involvement within the financial markets is unprecedented in its history. It can not be understated the influx of Trillions of dollars via the Federal Reserves QE programs, and the levered effects that influence has brought to bear. We don’t have a shred of true market forces that warrant such levels. As one nation after another with its cities on fire, citizens battling in the streets, cries of defaulting on sovereign debt, export/import disruptions, and more. Since the intervention of the QE programs; as long as the spigot remains open – the world and its crises are mere footnotes. Just look at what is taking place today in the Ukraine. Quite possibly the greatest global uncertainty wrench into the gears of the world at large. Russia puts boots on the ground, test fires an ICBM to heighten threats. North Korea test fires more missiles during this same period. At the same time our largest holder of debt and largest trading partner China publicly sides with Russia’s invasion calculations, not to mention their newest economic figures have been awful (and they are notorious in fudging them as to make them better than they truly are) and the markets reaction? Not only higher, but Investor Intelligence™ surveys show that traders are the least caring of a market hiccup in over 15 years! That’s the equivalent of more unicorn and rainbow thinkers in the market today than the dot-com bubble! Absolutely mind-boggling in my view. I bring this point to the forefront for the sole purpose of pointing out there was an anniversary this week. It was the 5th anniversary of the financial markets collapse. The worst since the era that brought about The Great Depression. And if I didn’t bring it to your attention now, many of you probably didn’t even know it. The near mention of this event had more in line with the Harry Potter character of “You know who” as in “He that shall not be named.” The 2009 financial collapse now seems to be of the same ilk. Again, as to push the point I made earlier on things that leave people scratching their heads. Black Monday (a far less eventful matter as compared with the final declines of 2009) was headlined, spoke of, theorized, along with a great whaling and the gnashing of teeth – every anniversary. And what about this one? The silence was deafening. Here’s the rub – we all know the unemployment #’s are worthless. We know they’re currently manipulated to the point of absurdity. We know that GDP (gross domestic product) trade deficits, and much, much more are now running inline with as much controversy as to their validity as those we get from the Chinese government. Accounting standards and the reporting of earnings are once again venturing on comedic. (As in an a company lost money according to general accounting, but based on Non-general? The place is rolling in dough!”) Fact or fiction seems to no longer matter anymore. It’s now blatantly obvious: spin a tale no matter how large for if it sticks – it’s now considered fact. And if they don’t believe the first lie – just readjust or recalculate the formulations to provide something they will believe. It’s becoming near maddening. So I guess it truly is, “different this time.” Just what happens when it’s realized that puddle on the floor isn’t from unicorn tears but from someone who didn’t see a Depends commercial is now anyone’s guess.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 05:33:07 +0000
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