Is this the year we transition from pandemic to endemic..? Let’s hope so, otherwise the fatigue all things Covid-19-related will trudge onward, unfortunately. In the interim, a quick look back at 2021 saw the Grand Slam in pursuing the asset class, Ether.
I purposely waited some time, before I penned the 2021 inaugural GAZBIT, to understand the changes that were and are occurring, once the Senate results in Georgia became official on January 6th, giving Democrats de-facto control of the White House, House and Senate. Since January 20th, what have I learned..? Simply, the pendulum swings back the other way and nothing changes.
For some time, in our client meetings, you have heard me express my amazement and the ease of which equity markets were basically going straight up, with nary a correction (Down 10% from highs) or bear market (Down 20%). Far too often, I could not reconcile the stratospheric valuations and the momentum stocks were given by World Central Banks, as a direct result of their ‘Easy Money’ policies. It seemed the old school metrics of fundamentals didn’t mean boo. You know, things like earnings.
Happy New Year !!! Hard to believe we are closing in on the end of the decade (730 days and counting), but as 2018 emerges we are approaching the 20’s at warp speed, which begs the question: Will we see a repeat of the Roaring 20’s from a century ago? If we do, life will get most interesting indeed.
Happy New and Leap Year !!! Just like the way Olympics of old were staged, every 4 years apart. Have any grand plans for Monday, February 29th..? If not, plan something unique or at least take some time and recognize the next Leap Day will occur in another decade. But before we look ahead that far, ominous clouds are not only the horizon, but are flat out, here.
Happy New Year !!! A most sincere 2015 welcome and ‘All My Best’ to clients. You have made NEAM and my life’s work in the world of personal finance extraordinarily gratifying and fulfilling. For all of that, I cannot ‘Thank You’ enough!! Another nod goes out to prospective clients, mostly from client referrals; welcome to a plain English summation of what I see happening in the midpoint of this decade. As always, let’s examine flashpoints, positive and negative…
Given the late Summer temperatures outside, this is a classic ‘Duh’. But anytime I hear this phrase, I immediately think of Glenn Frey’s 1980’s song, titled the same. It is a great tune, the video even better!! Alas, I chose this for my Gazbit title because of what is happening in the world at present. Where to start?
Although you may have not seen ‘The Hunger Games’, you have probably heard of the movie and soon HG 2 will be showing at a theatre near you. For the uninitiated, the premise is one of survival amongst your peers. Basically, kill or be killed. Barbaric indeed, but true. I bring this up in the context of changing the Gazbit title, slightly, to describe what little effect all the continuous QE (Quantitative Easing) is having on the global economy.
As expected, the Federal Reserve embarked on QE3, or in plain English, buying bonds to force interest rates down even further into the future or perpetuity. Problem is, they added the phrase ‘As Long As It Takes’. Dangerous stuff, in my humble opinion. This ‘bazooka’ approach confirms what I have been saying all along in that the Federal Reserve is scared ****less of deflation and they are pulling all the levers behind the curtain, ala ‘The Wizard of Oz’, in order to avoid just that.
This present day investment phrase will be in vogue throughout 2012, again, as investment markets will vacillate between euphoria and despair or basically a manic-depressive psychological state of mind. Remember when fundamental analysis counted for something? It will again, sometime, but not today. Remember when domestic and international markets were negatively correlated? That was then, today is a whole new paradigm or in plain English, this time it’s different.
