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Wednesday, September 16, 2015 |
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YOUR BEST SOURCE FOR THE UNBIASED MARKET COMMENTARY YOU WON'T GET FROM WALL STREET | |||||
Will She or Won't She and the Big Myth ... | |||||
by Larry Edelson | |||||
Dear Subscriber,
Tomorrow afternoon the entire
world will know whether or not Janet Yellen will raise the official Fed
Reserve Federal Funds interest rate for the first time since June 29,
2006 — a very long nine years ago.
And the first time it's made any kind of move on rates since it lowered its discount rate in February 2010.
I personally think Yellen should hold off. The U.S. economy is not
strong enough, foreign economies, especially Europe, are in shambles,
and the dollar is already soaring.
Be that as it may, today I want to clarify something I believe is very important: The myth of higher interest rates. That rising interest rates are bad for the stock market, and that declining rates are good for stocks.
If you're like any average
investor, you've heard that theory literally hundreds, if not
thousands, of times. Tune into any media show today, and I'm sure you'll
hear it at least once, if not more.
Most stock brokers, and the majority of analysts and newsletter
editors, espouse the same causal relationship between interest rates
and stock prices.
But
the fact of the matter, the plain truth, is that there is no "standard
relationship" between interest rates and stock prices. Period.
Consider the period from March
2000 to October 2002, where the Federal Funds rate declined from 5.85%
to 1.75%, and the Nasdaq plunged 78%.
Put simply, stocks and interest rates went down together! Exactly the opposite of what most would expect.
Or the period from March 2003
to October 2007, where the Federal Funds rate more than tripled and
rose from 1.25% to 4.75% ... And the Dow exploded higher, launching
from 7,992 to 13,930 — a 74% gain. Stocks and interest rates went
higher together!
The fact is that the relationship between interest rates and stock
prices varies considerably depending upon a host of factors, including
the value of the dollar, inflation and where the economy is in terms of
the economic cycle. The same myth applies to interest rates and gold: Higher interest rates, most pundits claim, is bad for gold. But that is almost entirely wrong. Most strong bull markets in precious metals have occurred with rising interest rates, not declining rates.
There are numerous examples,
the most vivid of which was the late 1970's bull market in gold and
silver which occurred simultaneously to a massive rise in interest
rates. Once rates peaked, so did gold and silver.
Now, to a few other items on my list for today. No matter what the Fed decides tomorrow:
First, the long-term trends for precious metals remain down. Neither
gold, silver, platinum nor palladium has bottomed. That said, don't be
surprised if you see a short-term rally.
Second, the long-term picture
for the U.S. equity markets remains exceptionally bullish. That is,
once the pullback that is still very much in progress is completed,
probably in mid-October at much lower levels.
Third, the bull market in the U.S. dollar — and conversely, bear markets in most other currencies — remains intact.
Fourth, deflation in the
commodity sector is not yet over. With the mere exception of natural
gas, for every commodity I look at, my system models point still lower.
Fifth, is global unrest. Per my
war models, global unrest is about to accelerate higher, yet again.
Driven by the refugee crisis in Europe, by ISIS, by currency
devaluations outside the U.S., by rising taxes and an increased hoarding
of cash (dollar bullish by default).
Sixth, is the great
sovereign-debt crisis that is about to explode onto the scene. The
evidence is overwhelming now. From Trump's popularity, in the sense that
he's an outsider vilifying career politicians, to Bernie Sanders
proposing $18 trillion in new spending (where's the money to come
from?) ...
To the refugee crisis, which will break the European Union's back ... to our own debt ceiling which will hit Oct. 1 ...
To the patently unpayable debts and IOUs of Europe, Japan and the U.S.
So beware, the waters are going to get rough ahead, increasingly rough. But they'll also be loaded with many opportunities.
Best wishes and stay safe,
Larry
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