Most Popular
1. Banking Crisis is Stocks Bull Market Buying Opportunity - Nadeem_Walayat
2.The Crypto Signal for the Precious Metals Market - P_Radomski_CFA
3. One Possible Outcome to a New World Order - Raymond_Matison
4.Nvidia Blow Off Top - Flying High like the Phoenix too Close to the Sun - Nadeem_Walayat
5. Apple AAPL Stock Trend and Earnings Analysis - Nadeem_Walayat
6.AI, Stocks, and Gold Stocks – Connected After All - P_Radomski_CFA
7.Stock Market CHEAT SHEET - - Nadeem_Walayat
8.US Debt Ceiling Crisis Smoke and Mirrors Circus - Nadeem_Walayat
9.Silver Price May Explode - Avi_Gilburt
10.More US Banks Could Collapse -- A Lot More- EWI
Last 7 days
Stock Market Volatility (VIX) - 25th Mar 24
Stock Market Investor Sentiment - 25th Mar 24
The Federal Reserve Didn't Do Anything But It Had Plenty to Say - 25th Mar 24
Stock Market Breadth - 24th Mar 24
Stock Market Margin Debt Indicator - 24th Mar 24
It’s Easy to Scream Stocks Bubble! - 24th Mar 24
Stocks: What to Make of All This Insider Selling- 24th Mar 24
Money Supply Continues To Fall, Economy Worsens – Investors Don’t Care - 24th Mar 24
Get an Edge in the Crypto Market with Order Flow - 24th Mar 24
US Presidential Election Cycle and Recessions - 18th Mar 24
US Recession Already Happened in 2022! - 18th Mar 24
AI can now remember everything you say - 18th Mar 24
Bitcoin Crypto Mania 2024 - MicroStrategy MSTR Blow off Top! - 14th Mar 24
Bitcoin Gravy Train Trend Forecast 2024 - 11th Mar 24
Gold and the Long-Term Inflation Cycle - 11th Mar 24
Fed’s Next Intertest Rate Move might not align with popular consensus - 11th Mar 24
Two Reasons The Fed Manipulates Interest Rates - 11th Mar 24
US Dollar Trend 2024 - 9th Mar 2024
The Bond Trade and Interest Rates - 9th Mar 2024
Investors Don’t Believe the Gold Rally, Still Prefer General Stocks - 9th Mar 2024
Paper Gold Vs. Real Gold: It's Important to Know the Difference - 9th Mar 2024
Stocks: What This "Record Extreme" Indicator May Be Signaling - 9th Mar 2024
My 3 Favorite Trade Setups - Elliott Wave Course - 9th Mar 2024
Bitcoin Crypto Bubble Mania! - 4th Mar 2024
US Interest Rates - When WIll the Fed Pivot - 1st Mar 2024
S&P Stock Market Real Earnings Yield - 29th Feb 2024
US Unemployment is a Fake Statistic - 29th Feb 2024
U.S. financial market’s “Weimar phase” impact to your fiat and digital assets - 29th Feb 2024
What a Breakdown in Silver Mining Stocks! What an Opportunity! - 29th Feb 2024
Why AI will Soon become SA - Synthetic Intelligence - The Machine Learning Megatrend - 29th Feb 2024
Keep Calm and Carry on Buying Quantum AI Tech Stocks - 19th Feb 24

Market Oracle FREE Newsletter

How to Protect your Wealth by Investing in AI Tech Stocks

Where to Invest 2009- Gold, Stocks and China

Stock-Markets / Investing 2009 Dec 18, 2008 - 11:25 AM GMT

By: Money_and_Markets

Stock-Markets

Diamond Rated - Best Financial Markets Analysis ArticleLarry Edelson writes: As you read this I'm at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport awaiting my flight back to the U.S. to get home for the holidays.

And since next Thursday is Christmas Day, and I'm off, I would like to wish you a very happy holiday.


Right now, though, I've got a lot of ground to cover with you. So let's get started. Specifically, I'm going to give you quick updates on gold, the broad U.S. stock market, and China.

But first, you need to be fully aware of the following: All of my warnings are coming to pass.

With this week's actions — slashing of the Fed funds rate to 0.25% and committing to buying virtually any assets they need to, effectively monetizing bad assets and debts — the Federal Reserve and Chairman Ben Bernanke are pulling out all the stops.

By hook or crook, they are — and will continue to — set the conditions for a deeply devalued dollar … and a re-inflation of asset prices. And they will succeed at doing it.

Now, I have a fascinating tidbit I just have to share with you.

On December 1, the National Bureau of Economic Research, or NBER — the final arbiter and dater of recession cycles in this country — officially announced that a recession started way back in December 2007.

Duh? I announced in my August 30, 2007, Money and Markets column that a severe recession had already started, four months before it actually started and 16 months before the NBER says it started.

We all know the NBER is late when it comes to recognizing recessions. But when their recent announcement came out, it got me thinking …

  • “Exactly how late are the NBER announcements compared to actual recessions?”
  • “What really is the NBER's track record?” And …
  • “How do the NBER's official recession announcements compare to the end of recessions?”

Fortunately, James Stack at InvesTech Research already did the research for me when his December 12 issue came across my desk. It's mindboggling. I've put his findings in a table below, with my additional comments in the far right column.

Check it out …

NBER Recession Announcements Coincide With The End Of Recessions, Not The Beginning Nor Even The Middle!

Actual Recession Start Date Actual Recession End Date NBER Officially Announces Recession # Of Months After Recession Begins NBER Officially Announces Recession Announcement Date Compared To Actual Recession End Date
Dec 2007 ??? Dec 2008 12

Mar 2001 Nov 2001 Nov 2001 8 Same Month Recession Ended
July 1990 March 1991 April 1991 8 1 MONTH AFTER Recession Ended
July 1981 Nov 1982 Jan 1982 6 10 Months Before Recession Ended
Jan 1980 July 1980 June 1980 5 Only 1 Month Before Recession Ended

Check out that data! NBER's recession announcements come so late they have almost perfectly coincided with the end of the recessions.

  • 1980 Recession: The NBER formally recognized the recession one month before the recession ended!
  • 1990-91 Recession: The NBER formally recognized it one month after the recession ended!
  • 2000-01 Recession: The NBER formally recognized it the same month the recession ended!

So, judging by the NBER's track record and its official recognition that December 2007 marked the beginning of a contraction, the current economic crisis is probably far closer to the end than the beginning!

That's not to say it's time to plunge back into the markets head first. It's not. The coast is not clear yet.

But interestingly enough, the above study on the NBER's track record is one more shred of evidence that confirms all my other indicators and research that say — to the surprise of most — the U.S. and the global economy are far closer to the bottom than they are the top.

And that there's going to be tons — literally tons — of money to be made in 2009.

Having said that, here's a quick update on what I'm seeing right now in the markets …

First, gold: Gold has staged a very nice rally over the past week, jumping from $741 to as high as $860 as I write this column. That's a very solid, sharp 16% gain — in under a week!

The distrust of paper assets and financial institutions is driving investors to gold.
The distrust of paper assets and financial institutions is driving investors to gold.

Still, gold is not yet out of the woods. My indicators tell me we need to see gold close solidly above the next target resistance level at the $879 area.

And if it can break through that, the lid will come fully off gold. I would then expect the yellow metal to start making its way to new record highs. Ditto for gold shares.

Either way, continue holding my recommended gold positions. They are designed to capture the long-term macro-economic picture, which is unequivocally bullish for gold.

Amongst the forces driving gold higher … largely, distrust of paper assets and financial institutions … and the very high probability that central banks and governments will inflate away the economic crisis by devaluing currencies.

For my latest recommendations in gold, be sure to see the December issue of my Real Wealth Report being published tomorrow.

Second, the broad stock market: Specifically, the Dow Jones Industrials. Cycles point higher into mid-January. How high can the Dow go? I believe it can get to at least 9700, and possibly 10,200.

Long-term, as I've previously noted, there is a very high probability the markets have already made a major bottom. And long-term, I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that a currency devaluation will recalibrate the Dow, sending it substantially higher, even as high as 35,000.

But in the short-term, the broad stock markets are going to merely grind their way higher, with large volatile swings.

Your best bets for now are to stay mostly out of stocks, with the exception of key natural resource plays — oil and energy, and gold mining shares.

The December Real Wealth Report has some new recommendations. Be sure to get that issue!

Third, China: Despite all the bad news you're hearing about China, I maintain my view that …

Next year, China's stock market could gain back at least 50% of its ‘08 decline.
Next year, China's stock market could gain back at least 50% of its ‘08 decline.

arrow_black The Fed, Gold, Stocks, And China ... China is not in anywhere near as bad shape as the press and other pundits are leading you to believe …

arrow_black The Fed, Gold, Stocks, And China ... China's stock market is bottoming and heading substantially higher in ‘09 … retracing at least 50% of its ‘08 decline and pushing the Shanghai Composite to as high as 3,700 — from its current 2,000 level, and …

arrow_black The Fed, Gold, Stocks, And China ... To the surprise of many, some of the best profit opportunities for the coming year will be found in China.

Why am I so bullish on China? Lots of reasons, chief among them …

A) Beijing now has nearly $2 trillion in cash reserves , more than any other country on the planet, giving it plenty of ammo to protect its economy.

B) China's banks are now the strongest in the world , with capital ratios far above almost all other large banks in the world and debt levels that are far lower (even allowing for an inevitable increase in non-performing loans).

C) Beijing has recently committed to spending over $600 billion — equivalent to nearly 30% of GDP — on infrastructure, rural development, healthcare, education, and housing. More spending is likely to be announced soon.

D) Interest rates have been cut five times already and will likely be cut further , while bank reserve requirements have also been lowered.

E) Taxes have been slashed on housing, personal income, sales and value added taxes — plus, tax rebates for exporters have just been upped as of December 1.

F) Downpayments on housing have been reduced from 30% to 20%, which will boost domestic spending throughout the economy.

G) Beijing just announced it will pump up money supply to a minimum of 17% growth in 2009.

H) Many great Chinese stocks are now trading at very cheap valuations, as low as 2 times earnings!

Bottom line: Other than gold and my select natural resource and oil and energy stocks recommended in my Real Wealth Report , the only other investments I'd make in these wild and crazy times are in China.

My two favorite long-term core holdings for China …

  • The iShares FTSE Index (FXI) , which tracks China's Shanghai stock market
  • The U.S. Global Investors China Regional Opportunities Fund (USCOX), a mutual fund that invests at least 80% of its money in the China region, from Mainland China to Hong Kong, Taiwan and more.

Both offer incredible profit potential, are easy to buy, and are great ways to play China.

Best Wishes and Happy Holidays,

Larry

P.S. For all of my detailed analysis and recommendations … to set yourself up for a hugely profitable 2009 — be sure to subscribe to Real Wealth Report .

This investment news is brought to you by Money and Markets . Money and Markets is a free daily investment newsletter from Martin D. Weiss and Weiss Research analysts offering the latest investing news and financial insights for the stock market, including tips and advice on investing in gold, energy and oil. Dr. Weiss is a leader in the fields of investing, interest rates, financial safety and economic forecasting. To view archives or subscribe, visit http://www.moneyandmarkets.com .

Money and Markets Archive

© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.


Post Comment

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in