Bear Market

However, the reality of higher inflation won’t show up in China’s inflation data (which clocks in at an absurdly low 3%). However, you can see clear signs of this in China’s civil unrest: you don’t get wage and labor strikes for nothing. 

The big news that has somehow shocked the media is that the BLS was caught fudging the jobs numbers going into the 2012 election. How on earth is this news? Anyone with a working frontal cortex is aware that CPI, the unemployment numbers, GDP and virtually everything else reported by the Federal Government is massaged to the point of being fraudulent.

Putting to rest fears that today's Senatorial hearing on digital currencies would crater Bitcoin (if in the immediate term), moments ago the digital currency priced in USD on the Mt Gox exchange, rose to yet another unpredecented price, hitting $850 moments ago, or about 50% higher than where it was this morning.  But you ain't seen nothing yet. Because at the same time, the Renminbi-denominated price of Bitcoin on BTC China, has the digital currency at 6780CNY. At a USDCNY exchange rate of 6.09, this means a price over $1100 per Bitcoin. Naturally, at this point we would suggest picking up the 20%+ free arb, however it is unclear how one can short the CNY priced leg of the transaction, or if for that matter, there is even an actual, liquid market in the currency. Because as the final chart shows, taken literally moments before we were going to post this article, BitCoin touched $900 on Mt Gox... and promptly tanked to just under $700, entering a bear market in the span of seconds on what appears to be about 10,000 trades.

It’s almost never openly admitted in public, but the reality is that few if any investors actually beat the market in the long-term. The reason for this is that most of the investment strategies employed by investors (professional or amateur) simply do not make money.

While the relentless multiple expansion (if not so much earnings growth and certainly not revenue contraction) looks set to push all three main stock indices over the key psychological levels of 16000, 1800 and 4000, with the all time bubble high on the Nasdaq increasingly looking like the next big target, the stock market mania has nothing on Bitcoin, which only yesterday crossed $500 for the first time ever, and as of this morning is already 20% higher, having just crossed $600 minutes ago. Which means that anything prices in Bitcoin has entered bear market in just the past day. How high BTC goes, is nobody's guess (Raoul Pal had a truly stunning price target): once the buying frenzy kicks in, step aside, especially since China is increasingly looking like it may be jumping on board the latest mania.

The third stage of bull markets, the mania phase, can last longer and go farther that logic would dictate.  However, the data suggests that the risk of a more meaningful reversion is rising.  It is unknown, unexpected and unanticipated events that strike the crucial blow that begins the market rout.  Unfortunately, due to the increased impact of high frequency and program trading, reversions are likely to occur faster than most can adequately respond to.  This is the danger that exists today. Are we in the third phase of a bull market?  Most who read this article will say "no."  However, those were the utterances made at the peak of every previous bull market cycle.

There is currently a debate being waged on Wall Street.  On one side of the argument are individuals who believe that we have entered into the next "secular bull market"  and that the markets have only just begun what is an expected multi-year advance from current levels.  The other side of the argument reiterates that the current market advance is predicated on artificial stimulus and that the "secular bear market" remains intact, and the next major reversion is just a function of time. The series of charts below is designed to allow you to draw your own conclusions. While it is certainly easy to be swept up in the daily advances of the stock market casino, it is important to remember that eventually the "house always wins."  What has always separated successful professional gamblers from the weekend sucker is strictly the difference of knowing when to cash in your chips and step away from the table.

Just when Twitter briefly dipped in bear market territory from its post IPO highs, and threatened to wipe out the retail mania of 2013 (very much as FaceBook did in 2012), here comes the hail mary to provide the most anticipated IPO of the year its second wind. "From its inception in 1974, the intent always has been for the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index to be the most complete and investable measure of the total U.S. equity market," noted Robert J. Waid, managing director. "As a rules-based index, the Wilshire 5000 does not need to make special accommodations for early entry of large IPOs, like Twitter, as stock additions always have been made monthly for U.S. companies with readily available price data. The Twitter IPO is no exception," he concluded. Of course, how inclusion in the Wilshire 5000 will boost TWTR profitability, remains a mystery.

Mere days after the euphoria of Twitter's IPO proclaimed by any and all as a great success, the bellwhether for all things Dot-Com-Bubble 2.0 has just entered its first bear market. Now down 20% from its $50.08 highs last week, Twitter now has a 3 handle ($39.99) as it seems the world wakes up to "unbelievable growth" that is 'priced in'... Of course, with rumors that TWTR options trading starts later this week, it's anyone's guess where the machines take it next...

Recent activity in asset markets suggests dangerous bubbles are building everywhere. It's time to bunker down and we look at ways to best protect your capital.

It seems like the last 2 days have been a massive NASDAQ-TWTR pairs trade... Today saw broad stock indices best day in a month despite the early "good news is bad news" sell-off as newly minted TWTR heads towards its first bear market threshold off the highs. The Dow managed to get back to a record high close by the end of the day. Treasury prices were clubbed like a baby seal with yields jumping their most in over 4 months. Shorts were grossly squeezed today ("most shorted +2.9% vs Russell +1.1%). Gold was down 1.4% on the day (oil and copper flat) and 2% on the week. VIX was banged back under 13% and the JPY weakness sparked by the taper-on-driven USD strength kept carry traders alive. All in all - only equity markets reacted "positively" to the good news with a panic-buying-frenzy in the last 30 minutes as rates, FX, and precious metals all shifted in a "taper-on" trend...

Having been "on fire" for most of the year - managing a simply remarkable (Venezuela stock market-like) 472% gain from the start of the year to September highs; it appears the momentum stock of the year is 'running out of gas'. Now down over 22% from its highs, Elon Musk's experiment in exuberance has entered a bear market. Indices most levred to the momo mayhem are struggling this morning also with NASDAQ leading the 'charge' lower. At 3-month lows, TSLA is now up 'only' 335% YTD...

It is only fitting that promptly following the third worst bear market of all time resulting from the bursting of the biggest, until that point, credit bubble that as a result of over $10 trillion in global fungible central bank balance sheet expansion, and a new and improve and bigger than ever credit bubble, one which includes the sovereigns too, the S&P is now 162% higher from its March 9 2009 lows of 676.53, making this the fourth biggest bull market in US history. The next logical question: what would make this relentless Fed balance sheet tracking "bull market" become the 3rd biggest bull market in history, or 2nd biggest... or biggest of all time. Here are the S&P500 breakevens for those particular thresholds...

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. In a little over 12 hours, the unstoppable glory of all things 2013 dot-com bubble has collapsed over 20% from its highs. After being proclaimed as "cult" by many and a "must buy" by others only last night, the opening bell this morning sees little to no BTFD'ers coming to its rescue (for now)...

Just as it is easy being a weatherman in San Diego ("the weather will be... nice. Back to you"), so the same inductive analysis can be applied to another week of stocks in Bernanke's centrally planned market: "stocks will be... up." Sure enough, as we enter October's last week where the key events will be the conclusion of the S&P earnings season and the October FOMC announcement (not much prop bets on a surprise tapering announcement this time), overnight futures have experienced the latest off the gates, JPY momentum ignition driven melt up.