In this week's Off the Cuff with Mish & Chris podcast, Mish and Chris address:
- The unbearable lightness of financial markets
- How can stocks be so high on such poor economic fundamentals?
- California's warning signs
- Are retail sales falling off a cliff?
- Exiting the euro
- What, exactly, would be the consequences for countries doing this?
- Mining stocks
- What's the risk/return?
Europe slipping deeper into recession, rapidly rising food prices, China headed for a soft (or maybe not-so-soft) landing, Japan struggling, oil prices still near triple digits, US unemployment stubbornly over 8% — do these seem like the sort of fundamentals that justify a stock market within a few percentage points of its all-time highs?
Yet here we are.
Chris brings back new evidence that institutional money managers are just as stymied, flummoxed, and nervous as we are about these ridiculously elevated markets. If you're tired of the lack of the logic and are feeling that a bad reckoning is inevitable, you're not alone…
Meanwhile, there are fresh danger signs flashing in California, where a stunning drop in retail sales tax receipts suggests that the consumer may be finally throwing in the towel. If the numbers are accurate, expect a cascade of disappointing data to soon sweep the rest of the country.
Chris and Mish also dig into what a euro exit really would mean for those countries that undertake it. The short story: There will be pain for everyone involved. But still, it may be the best (and only) way
by cmartenson 
