Stocks
In the lunar calendar that started February 8, this is the Year of the Red Monkey. I found this description of the Red Monkey quite apt:
"According to Chinese Five Elements Horoscopes, Monkey contains Metal and Water. Metal is connected to gold. Water is connected to wisdom and danger. Therefore, we will deal with more financial events in the year of the Monkey. Monkey is a smart, naughty, wily and vigilant animal. If you want to have good return for your money investment, then you need to outsmart the Monkey. Metal is also connected to the Wind. That implies the status of events will be changing very quickly. Think twice before you leap when making changes for your finance, career, business relationship and people relationship."
(Source)
In other words, the financial world will be volatile. And few will have the agility and wile to outsmart the market-monkey.
The Year Of The Red Monkey: Volatility Reigns Supreme
by charleshughsmithIn the lunar calendar that started February 8, this is the Year of the Red Monkey. I found this description of the Red Monkey quite apt:
"According to Chinese Five Elements Horoscopes, Monkey contains Metal and Water. Metal is connected to gold. Water is connected to wisdom and danger. Therefore, we will deal with more financial events in the year of the Monkey. Monkey is a smart, naughty, wily and vigilant animal. If you want to have good return for your money investment, then you need to outsmart the Monkey. Metal is also connected to the Wind. That implies the status of events will be changing very quickly. Think twice before you leap when making changes for your finance, career, business relationship and people relationship."
(Source)
In other words, the financial world will be volatile. And few will have the agility and wile to outsmart the market-monkey.
Given the brutal start to the markets in the first three weeks of 2016, we thought it a good time to check in with the team at New Harbor Financial. We have had them on our podcast periodically over the past years as the market churned to ever new highs, and have always appreciated their skepticism of these liquidity-driven ""markets"" as well as their unwavering commitment to risk management should the party in stocks end suddenly.
So, how is their risk-managed approach faring now that the S&P 500 has suddenly dropped 8% since Christmas? Quite well. Their general portfolio is flat for the year so far — evidence that caution, prudence and hedging can indeed preserve capital during market downdrafts.
We've invited the New Harbor team back on this week to hear their latest assessment on the markets, as well as how they're approaching their portfolio positioning moving forward.
New Harbor: A Time For Staying Out Of Harms Way
by Chris MartensonGiven the brutal start to the markets in the first three weeks of 2016, we thought it a good time to check in with the team at New Harbor Financial. We have had them on our podcast periodically over the past years as the market churned to ever new highs, and have always appreciated their skepticism of these liquidity-driven ""markets"" as well as their unwavering commitment to risk management should the party in stocks end suddenly.
So, how is their risk-managed approach faring now that the S&P 500 has suddenly dropped 8% since Christmas? Quite well. Their general portfolio is flat for the year so far — evidence that caution, prudence and hedging can indeed preserve capital during market downdrafts.
We've invited the New Harbor team back on this week to hear their latest assessment on the markets, as well as how they're approaching their portfolio positioning moving forward.
The deflation monster was evident across the global markets today, and the possibility of a market crash remains as high as ever.
In the overnight session on Tuesday, everything fell apart.
We can now clearly see the tracks of the deflation monster stomping across the world stage. While a retreat into bonds (safety) has happened, that’s just the normal first reaction to such a terrible financial situation. However, those bonds will prove to be roach motels as the next stage of this monster will be massive bond defaults of all varieties.
And…..It’s Gone!
PREVIEW by Chris MartensonThe deflation monster was evident across the global markets today, and the possibility of a market crash remains as high as ever.
In the overnight session on Tuesday, everything fell apart.
We can now clearly see the tracks of the deflation monster stomping across the world stage. While a retreat into bonds (safety) has happened, that’s just the normal first reaction to such a terrible financial situation. However, those bonds will prove to be roach motels as the next stage of this monster will be massive bond defaults of all varieties.
As we’ve been warning for quite a while (too long for my taste): the world’s grand experiment with debt has come to an end. And it’s now unraveling.
Just in the two weeks since the start of 2016, the US equity markets are down almost 10%. Their worst start to the year in history. Many other markets across the world are suffering worse.
If you watched stock prices today, you likely had flashbacks to the financial crisis of 2008. At one point the Dow was down over 500 points, the S&P cracked below key support at 1,900, and the price of oil dropped below $30/barrel. Scared investors are wondering: What the heck is happening? Many are also fearfully asking: Are we re-entering another crisis?
The Deflation Monster Has Arrived
by Chris MartensonAs we’ve been warning for quite a while (too long for my taste): the world’s grand experiment with debt has come to an end. And it’s now unraveling.
Just in the two weeks since the start of 2016, the US equity markets are down almost 10%. Their worst start to the year in history. Many other markets across the world are suffering worse.
If you watched stock prices today, you likely had flashbacks to the financial crisis of 2008. At one point the Dow was down over 500 points, the S&P cracked below key support at 1,900, and the price of oil dropped below $30/barrel. Scared investors are wondering: What the heck is happening? Many are also fearfully asking: Are we re-entering another crisis?
Executive Summary
- There are too many signs of deflation to deny it's winning the day
- Why China's weakening will accelerate the global economy's decent
- Why this next crisis will be worse than 2008
- What will it look like if things really get out of control (how bad could things get?)
- The best investments to be making now, before the rout
If you have not yet read The Deflation Monster Has Arrived, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.
Too Many Warning Signs To Talk About
The deflationary monster is here and there are almost too many warning signs to list, let alone fully describe.
So I’ll just list and link them…you can follow up on the details if you want, it’s the ‘general vibe’ I want to get across.
Here are the signs of a weak economy that we are dealing with:
- Oil in the $20’s (!!)
- Copper under $2
- Baltic Dry Shipping Index at the lowest ever at 383 and down ~50% in the past year.
- Wal-Mart closing 269 stores, 154 in the US.
- Business inventories to sales at new cycle highs
- U.S. freight volume falls for first time in almost three years
- US retail sales fall 0.1% in December
- Empire State index weakens to recession lows.
- South African rand hits new all-time lows in 2016
- Brazil’s Real Falls Sharply Against Dollar
- Brazil Unemployment Rate Rises to 9%
- Canadian Dollar Hits 13 Year Low Against US Dollar
- U.S. Energy Junk Bond Spreads At Record Width
- Nigeria’s Currency Plummets On Open Market
- Mexico’s Peso Hits New All-Time Low
- Chinese Stocks Enter Bear Market (again)
- European Stocks Enter Bear Market
The pattern here is one of rapidly slowing economic activity and mounting pain starting “from the outside in” as emerging markets and the poor people within the core countries bear the brunt at first. Things always get rolling to the downside starting with the weakest, peripheral elements first.
Copper and oil are providing very clear signs that economic activity is not just slow, but in rapid retreat. Wal-Mart tells us that its shoppers are having trouble. The fresh all-time lows in a variety of currencies, plus massive weakness in others, is telling us that the virtuous portion of the liquidity cycle that the Fed, et al., unleashed on the world has entered the vicious part of the cycle.
The pain will spread to the center with increasing speed. The main question is if the authorities can stop that before the momentum becomes too great to halt? And what will happen if they cannot?
The answer to that is…
Why This Next Crisis Will Be Worse Than 2008
PREVIEW by Chris MartensonExecutive Summary
- There are too many signs of deflation to deny it's winning the day
- Why China's weakening will accelerate the global economy's decent
- Why this next crisis will be worse than 2008
- What will it look like if things really get out of control (how bad could things get?)
- The best investments to be making now, before the rout
If you have not yet read The Deflation Monster Has Arrived, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.
Too Many Warning Signs To Talk About
The deflationary monster is here and there are almost too many warning signs to list, let alone fully describe.
So I’ll just list and link them…you can follow up on the details if you want, it’s the ‘general vibe’ I want to get across.
Here are the signs of a weak economy that we are dealing with:
- Oil in the $20’s (!!)
- Copper under $2
- Baltic Dry Shipping Index at the lowest ever at 383 and down ~50% in the past year.
- Wal-Mart closing 269 stores, 154 in the US.
- Business inventories to sales at new cycle highs
- U.S. freight volume falls for first time in almost three years
- US retail sales fall 0.1% in December
- Empire State index weakens to recession lows.
- South African rand hits new all-time lows in 2016
- Brazil’s Real Falls Sharply Against Dollar
- Brazil Unemployment Rate Rises to 9%
- Canadian Dollar Hits 13 Year Low Against US Dollar
- U.S. Energy Junk Bond Spreads At Record Width
- Nigeria’s Currency Plummets On Open Market
- Mexico’s Peso Hits New All-Time Low
- Chinese Stocks Enter Bear Market (again)
- European Stocks Enter Bear Market
The pattern here is one of rapidly slowing economic activity and mounting pain starting “from the outside in” as emerging markets and the poor people within the core countries bear the brunt at first. Things always get rolling to the downside starting with the weakest, peripheral elements first.
Copper and oil are providing very clear signs that economic activity is not just slow, but in rapid retreat. Wal-Mart tells us that its shoppers are having trouble. The fresh all-time lows in a variety of currencies, plus massive weakness in others, is telling us that the virtuous portion of the liquidity cycle that the Fed, et al., unleashed on the world has entered the vicious part of the cycle.
The pain will spread to the center with increasing speed. The main question is if the authorities can stop that before the momentum becomes too great to halt? And what will happen if they cannot?
The answer to that is…
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