Spending a few minutes reading the headlines today can make you feel bad. It feels like the world is on fire. Ebola, ISIS, Ukraine and some extremely currency movements. In a world like that, the U.S is seen as a safe harbor and the greenbacks is the safest, most reliable currency on the planet right now.
We witnessed a fantastic corporate earnings season, which was one of the best in the last decade. It is still a lot of work on jobs and housing, but the economy is well underway. How is it gonna be in the markets next year? No one knows, but there is a lot predictions out there. I will refer from two different investors today. One is positive and one is negative. Let`s take a look at the positive first;
No doubt, there is a market shift ahead, but it isn`t what you think it is. Based on different analysis, many indicators shows us that next year will be another fantastic year in the stock market. It will be another year to make money and the bull market will continue.
The bull market will not be what we have seen so far. It`s not gonna be another broad market rally like the rally we`ve seen the last few years. Stock picking will still be important, as there is a lot of stocks you should sell in 2015.
What you should buy is high-quality stocks with great fundamentals. You should buy one type of stocks next year.
Look at the truth about the economy. It took seven years to finally rebound from the Great Recession, and here are some key reasons why some investors expect the economy to keep charging ahead next year;
Fist of all; the oil shale revolution. According to the International Energy agency, the U.S will become the world`s leading oil producer next year. The energy boom will create jobs and lowering the gas and utility costs for consumers. That`s good news for the economy next year.
In addition; there will be low-interest rates. It may rise in the next 12 months, but the Fed will manage that rise slowly, which means it will remain ultra-low by historical standards, and that`s also good news for M&A activities, stock buybacks and cheap corporate borrowing that fuels stock prices, and business expansion.
Consumers are more positive to the economy and consumer confidence soared in October. Household net worth is back above 2007 levels, and consumer spending are rising at a moderate clip.
It looks safe in the U.S compared to the rest of the world. England`s housing market is collapsing. The Euro zone is on a brink to a deflationary disaster. Germany`s economy is deteriorating, and the growth has stalled in the once-hot BRICS. The U.S economy is surging. GDP was much stronger than expected 3,5% in Q3.
Chairwoman Janet Yellen has made it clear she intends to do whatever it takes to keep the economy and job growth strong. We survived the end of the Fed`s QE program and that was just one of the weapons in her arsenal.
The other one I talked about is negative. He expect the stock market to crash any time soon. It did in 1929, 1987, 2000 and 2008. The next crash will be next year he says. The bull market we have had over the past years is one of the longest, and most generous bull markets in history.
But, no bull markets lasts forever he says, and this one has about run its course. If you look at key long-term measures, U.S stocks are about 80% overvalued he says. There have been only five times when stocks have been more than 50% overvalued, and that is 1853, 1906, 1929, 1969 and 1999.
He said that each one of those years marked the peak of a massive, once-in-a-generation stock-market bubble. Only two of those bubbles were bigger than today`s, and that was in 1929 and 1999. This is the end of the line for this bull market he says.
You have to be sceptical about everything you read and it is very important to make up your own mind. I have heard about a 1929-stock-market-crash in ten years now. Many talked about a stock market crash all months this year. Same people talked about it in 2013 and 2012, but what we saw was a strong bull market.
But I can promise you one thing; one day they will have right!
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Ket Garden
Shiny bull 