Dow 50k

by Bob Rinear, The International Forecaster:

…do the powers that be “want” the market to go to 50K? What would be the point of that? few that I can really see. Sure, it will make the top 5% a whole lot of money, but for the tens of millions that don’t have any way to own stocks…it won’t do a thing for them.

I don’t know the number, but there must be like 10K newsletters out there. Some of them are pretty good, some pretty funny and some not worth the digital ink they’re written on. But there’s certainly no shortage of them.

Over the many years I’ve been doing this letter, I’ve seen work posted on chat rooms, bulletin boards, web sites, blog sites, etc, from dozens if not hundreds of so called guru’s and experts. Like many, sometimes they’re hot, and sometimes they’re not. But as you cruise the net, it is fun to get all the perspectives.

Back in February of 2016 some of the big names in finance were sounding the alarm. Let’s take a peek at some of their comments, and then remember that this was over a year ago, and the DOW was FIVE THOUSAND POINTS LOWER:

Ray Dalio, founder of the largest hedge fund in the world has recently come out against the Federal Reserve and its plans to hike interest rates further in 2016. In the wake of the oil glut and Chinese volatility, Dalio argues in an op-ed for Financial Times that tightening monetary policy will be counter-productive and that the U.S. is nearing the end of a long-term debt cycle that could test the reliance of global markets.

George Soros, hedge fund expert known for his enormous contributions to progressive causes and influence backing Democrats in U.S. elections, has issued similar warnings, however his actions speak louder than words. The noted investor recently admitted he is betting against continued market growth, shorting Asian currencies and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, When I look at the financial markets there is a serious challenge which reminds me of the crisis we had in 2008,” Soros said in a January speech in Sri Lanka.

Citigroup updated its market clock chart warning the country is entering Phase 4 of the economic cycle. In Phase 4, credit and equity dry up as a response to tightening monetary policy, which means the threat of a potential recession becomes much higher, reports Business Insider.

So, 16 months ago, these and probably half a dozen more ( James Rogers, Faber, Schiff, etc) were preaching a recession, and a market roll over. Yet the market is up 5000 points since then.

On the opposite side of the pendulum we have the DOW 50K guys:

Larry Edelson, a Money and Markets editor, predicts: “The Dow Jones Industrial will lead the way higher and catapult to 31,000 over the next two years.”

Ron Baron, CEO of Baron Capital, thinks: “It’s going to be 30,000.”

Jeffrey A. Hirsch, editor-in-chief of the Stock Trader’s Almanac, believes it will go even higher: “The Dow Jones Industrial Average will surge to 38,820 in a ‘super boom’ beginning in 2017.”

However, Paul Mampilly’s “Dow 50,000” prediction is really catching eyes, and one should pay heed — considering his past predictions have been spot-on.

Again, I can probably troll up another half dozen with similar forecasts. So the question is… who’s right and who’s wrong and…why?

Here’s the argument in Readers Digest condensed version: The bears say 1) the world’s economy is on the ropes, 2) global debts are going to swallow us, 3) we’re 9 years into this current “recovery” the second longest in history, 4) the economic data is poor at best, 5) economic numbers have been fudged to look better than they are, 6) valuations are already very stretched meaning stocks are expensive, 7) hiking rates will end the expansion, 8) demographics suggest the baby boomers will pull money out of markets and slow their spending 9) the millennials following the boomers don’t have the salaries to create more overall demand, 10) promised tax cuts probably won’t be that excessive.

Okay, so what’s the bulls case? Well there’s a couple and they’re compelling. For some they’re thinking about past mania’s. For instance, when Japan’s market went from 5K to 40K, it didn’t trickle higher all that time. No, it was inching higher and inching higher gradually gaining ground and then “boom” it melted up. In a very short 4 years it went from about 15K to 40K, with the bulk of it coming in the last two years of the run.

We saw that same form of panic buying in our own DOW way back in the 30’s. Just before the big crash, the DOW had been likewise inching itself higher and higher. Then just a year before it topped out and ultimately crashed, it put on a massive run of over 30%.

So there’s history that suggests that over and over through the ages, people have sat and watched the train leaving the station, until at some point they snap and go all in. Even way back in the 1600’s during the famous tulip mania, prices were rising and rising, but then exploded to where in about 2 years’ time the price went up 300%. Then it crashed.

Therefore, if indeed there’s trillions of dollars sitting idle, looking for a place to park, that as the market continues inching higher, at some point people toss in the towel, and “go for it” for all they’re worth. The final panic “get me in at any cost” -melt up.

I have no issue with that theory, because indeed it has been established as historical fact. It could happen again. Then there’s the Trump tax cuts. Some are thinking that if he can get a really huge tax cut through, then they’re going to be willing to give stocks even “more multiples” of value, as their profits should soar. So if you link up the tax cuts with the idea of everyone wanting to pile in, you can make a weak case for doubling from here.

But I think the “few” who are citing the Central banks as the main reason we could see 40 or 50K are the ones on the right track.

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