A problem I have about market going higher.
The S&P P/E after the 2000 bubble never became cheap at all it has only dropped to the high limit of average where it is now.
Lots of rate cuts, money being printed, asset withdrawal from housing kept the consumer spending more than they have when they should have been tightening their belts.
So are we entering a new bubble? How high will it go? There are virtually no bears left.. apart from on this thread perhaps
The market is in euphoric state and sees no concerns, see all news with rose tinted glasses and if they can't find a snippet that is good to overshadow the bad they totally ignore it saying it was a error or a one off, or that statistic can't be relied on very well!
The housing market will be important to watch because when the US consumer sees his net worth falling and realises what he has not saved and how much debt he has built up, then they will have to tighten their spending very quickly.
Jobs are not being created as they should in a properly growing economy, you just have to look into the figures to see they aren't at all.
Why aren't wages going up? People can't get jobs so the ones that have got one can't push for higher or they will not have a job. They take money out of their houses, so what happens when they can't afford the payments because interest rates start to bite?
A lot of mortgages are now deferred interest, they expect the value of the house to go up to cover the cost. They will be in very serious trouble if the market even stays flat!
Markets can be insane and irrational longer than you think so despite the fact that it is overvalued it could go higher before eventually falling
An argument against it going lower
It is in the interest of the US to keep the market going, to feed the enthusiam in the economy, to say all is well and it is different this time.
Because the reality of the situation is such a crisis they cannot afford not to let the plates stop spinning and they are doing whatever they can to keep them spinning!
An LTCM situation is probably no where near what could be on the cards!