An "Austrian View" Approach To Equity Prices
Take all you know about the formation of equity prices... and throw it out of the window, at least according to the following paper out of (fittingly Austrian) Erste Group, which applies Austrian theory to stock "valuation", by looking at a world in which the only determining factor for "fair value" is credit money creation. Indeed, the 2011 market, in which cross-asset correlations broke all records, and in which fundamentals were cremated once and for all, showed that the only thing that matters is who prints first, and more importantly, who frontruns said printing (it also means that most hedge fund analysts will soon be redundant). Here is Erste with a slightly less jaded view: "We come to the conclusion that it makes sense for equity investors to track monetary and, especially, debt developments closely. We believe that the changing dynamics of monetary as well as debt aggregates are often a good leading indicator for equity markets. Historic data shows that accelerating money and credit growth drives equity prices, while decelerating growth in the money and credit supply generally puts pressure on equity prices...Financial history shows that equity markets are ‘addicted’ to new money and credit creation. To keep rallies going, the equity markets need ever more fuel (faster rate of change in the money and credit supply). As soon as the rate of change is negative (decelerating money and credit supply) markets tend to become sluggish and lose momentum, even though in absolute terms the money and credit supply is still rising." And while this is not telling Zero Hedge regulars something they didn't know already, with the fiscal pathway of creating new money blocked in a (mock) austere world, the only other way to generate M1-X is by printing. Summary - much more currency debasement and devaluation ahead, only this time with a $100 base in WTI. Which most certainly means that very soon the world will need to find an extended source of cheap energy (read oil). And everyone knows what that will be...
Summary from Erste:
At the heart of this product lies the analysis of the development of historic money and credit statistics. It is called the ‘Austrian View’ because studying the theories of the Austrian School of economics (especially Ludwig von Mises’ book: ‘The Theory of Money and Credit’; which, by the way, will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its first publication in 2012) has inspired us to examine the relation between money/credit developments and equity prices. We have come to the conclusion that, indeed, there seems to be a connection between the two. However, it is necessary to have the right angle of vision when poring over the money and credit statistics, because otherwise they are pretty useless.
We have to admit that it has become very difficult to determine what money and credit actually is. Money supply aggregates like M0, M1, M2, M3, sometimes even M4, are being published. To complicate things further, central banks publish credit statistics as well. Finally, money and credit are just two sides of the same coin in today’s monetary order. Someone’s savings account (contained in the calculation of M1) is at the same time the credit financing someone else’s project (contained in credit outstanding). We therefore believe that one should denote currency (apart from cash in your pocket) in savings and other bank accounts as claim, not as money. We believe that M1 and M2 are good short-term leading indicators for equities. In this publication we also track the development of debt as a supplemental indicator.
Apart from the question of which aggregates to track it is important to understand that the rate of change in the money supply is of interest. In order to drive a rally, the rate of change in the money supply has to increase. As soon as the rate of change is slowing down, equity markets tend to get sluggish and weaken. There is, however, a certain time lag effect involved. We decided to use the US stock market cycle 2001 - 2007 as a case study in order to demonstrate how the analysis of monetary forces can improve an investor’s decision-making process. The appendix of this publication will track several monetary aggregates for the main currency areas.
The punch line is that this framework advises investors to establish long positions in equities (or overweight cyclical or financial stocks) as long as the credit supply is loose and accelerating; as soon as the credit supply becomes tight and decelerates, investors should gradually sell their positions or switch into more defensive sectors. [ZH: incidentally this is what we suggested back in May when recommending the QE unwind trade, which has returned about 10% over the S&P, or about in the top 95%-ile]
In this context, we would like to mention, that in December 2010 an interesting paper was published by Jordà, Schularick and Taylor, titled ‘Financial Crises, Credit Booms and External Imbalances: 140 years of lessons’. They have studied the experiences of 14 developed countries over 140 years and exploited a long-duration dataset in a number of different ways (application of new statistical tools to describe the temporal and spatial patterns). Their final conclusion confirms our interest in money and credit statistics, because the overall result is that credit growth emerges as the single best predictor of financial instability.
The overall framework has to be understood as an additional tool within the toolbox at the investor’s disposal. It is not the Holy Grail or something like that, but we believe that it can provide equity investors with an informative basis in times when fundamental analysis does not seem to be of any use.
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Happy Holidays everyone. Leave with this CNBC / Onion Headline:
The good news is that Wall Street experts think stock prices will rise more than 10 percent next year. The bad news is that they expected big gains in 2011.
More BS from money managers who get paid even as clients get fleeced. I could only see this scenario manifesting if the dollars drops 10% and/or trillions are 'printed'
How to avoid a Fema camp: I pledge allegience to the fag of the United States of America, and to the banana republic for which he stands, one nation under arrest, indefensible, with liberals and "just us" for all. Merry Christmas
The Austrian school makes a fatally flawed assumption about equity prices. Namely that they should be determined by the subjective preferences of market participants. There is in fact a far better and more objective means of price discovery - create a central body to set equity prices according to the mathematical models of professional economists.
The optimality of the price of equities can be modelled by the following equation:
U(price) = SUM( w1x1 + ... + wnxn )
Where
wi = intelligence of market participant i
xi = proportional influence of market participant i on price
Letting Wmax = MAX( w1,...,wn ),we find that:
Max{U(price)} = SUM( w1x1 + ... + wnxn ) | wi = Wmax for all i
= Wmax * SUM ( x1 + ... + xn)
= Wmax
Therefore, for maximum prosperity only the most intelligent professionals should be setting prices.
That. Is. Awesome.
The only problem is, I don't see the component of human nature in the equation. If market particpants A-Z decide they don't want to pay the price that the "most intelligent professionals" have set, then what?
They will simply have to pay this price, since it will be mandated by law. But in any case, a failure to agree with the optimal price is a clear demonstration of ignorance, and the resulting social ostracism should be enough to enforce compliance.
MDB... "But in any case, a failure to agree with the optimal price is a clear demonstration of ignorance, and the resulting social ostracism should be enough to enforce compliance."
..................................
If 'social ostracism' is the only necessity for compliance, why does the US have more people in jail than any other country on earth?
One would think that shame of wrong doing would stop all crime... especially crimes against humanity which bankers/pols commit daily.
It's a shame, but there is no shame anymore.
austrian view may be correct, but in an austrian world austrians would be dirt poor without government subsidies and world competition.
ron paul knows better that his entry into politics came from money and reputation of being a doctor and not a butcher or a car mechanic. But in a real world without government subsidy to doctors (50% of labor costs) and AMA lobbying to keep the profession supply less than demand, doctors wages and reputation would not warrant ron paul to run for elite political position.
Remember Doctors don't create cures, they just distribute them to you.
Also austrian and free market is brutal and cut throat. Do westerners really want to compete with BILLION Indian and Chinese youths?
Only 17% of American physicians are AMA members. It is now a left wing insurance company selling health and life policies and behaving more like AARP than a union for doctors.
They have lost their way and now only a few academics or power hungry (or should I say a few who enjoy being pictured with politicians at social gatherings) doctors belong. Most who want helpful political input go with Docs4patientcare. The AMA has been useless for 40 years...make that dangerous.
Be that as it may, government out of health care completely would lead to a plunge in doctors' wages. How could it be otherwise?
The Ron Paul grassroots crew's creativity never ceases to amaze me. Check this out;
Pauled the Iowa Mall and Best Buy today! Submitted by storm on Fri, 12/23/2011 - 22:23.Was at the largest mall in Iowa today. Went into the Apple store and turned the computers into Ron Paul. Opened to dailypaul.com and ronpaul2012.com changed the home pages loaded Ron Paul YouTube video. Also changed the backgrounds to the Top Tier Military donations picture. Here's the kicker, some of the computers already had the home page set to ronpaulronpaul.com :) we are winning! I just went over to Best Buy and did the same thing. Now I am Pauling the parking lots with Super Brochures..Go get em!
http://www.dailypaul.com/195599/i-think-i-did-something-awesomeon-accident
I think I have a new expanded form of QE.
Quite Elevating! Question is what happens when they QE (Quit Elevating)?
I think we are seeing a with-drawal of liquidity around the edges.
India is jittery, because it knows all that dollar slosh can be GONE in a heartbeat and in fact IS currently looking to go home. WHen it does, the whoosh and thud in India and other QE dependent markets (most of th edeveloping world) will be awful.
ori
/fractal-animal-hypnotic/
My family and I would like to wish everyone on these pages all the very best for Christmas and the New Year, may the coming year bring you health, wealth and happiness, and that extends to our Muslin, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist friends and every other creed, race and faith.
Have a good one...
Hahaha! That's brilliant. The best part of this story is where some of the computers had already been "Pauled." It's like there's a secret underground network that exists without you knowing about it.
Why not just report them to the terror/watch programs- now they are guilty.
A pure free market is brutal and will hurt most. But who said that isn't fair ;)?
Remember Doctors don't create cures, they just distribute them to you.
Some do. There's huge variation between different specializations in terms of what they can get away with. Surgeons probably have the greatest leeway. If they can get someone with a severe medical issue to sign the right forms, surgeons can try cutting off just about anything as "treatment."
You're right about pharma and biotech development, though.
Competition is very good. Let others be encumbered with a controlled market and let us have a free market, we'll outcompete every time.
China disagrees for 245 billion reasons (in 2010).
China disagrees because they see using slave labor as a way to gain the system. Crony capitalism disagrees because they see stealing and control as a way to gain the system. Now why is it you disagree?
slave labor due to low labor standards.
America learned long time ago about what happens when you lock in women workers in a garment factory so that one owner can increase profit by 5%.
Chinese are new to capitalism and materialism. They will accept horrid labor conditions as long as they can buy stuff but in due time will realize that sacrifices made are not worth the materialistic way of life.
Americans will soon become Europeans...after spending all public tax dollars in fueling elite's ambition for global dominance in world wars, labor will demand more. The Iraq vet guy at the pizza shop will stop beliving that capitalism will make him happy.
Hope was all American middle class had after Reagan, Clinton x 2, Bush x 3, and Obama crushed that hope with horrifying realism that America after all is a corrupt oligarchy no different than Russia or China.
Remember, these are the folks that want "free" markets...but fences to keep out the illegals.
There is but one reason to be against a free market , and that would be the desire to gain the system. Just so you'll know, border protection is a Constitutional responsibility of the Federal Govt.
game the system
Digging below the surface of this is innovation, and it's natural nemisis, mercantilism. This begs the question whether government is even necessary, since they are the engine of mercantilism, and stifle innovation through regulation.
In the end, what do they (china/India) have, that I really need?
so who creates the cures? jonas salk wasn't a doctor? how about linus pauling?
Is this guy a bot or just drunk.
Also,
What choice do people have? Rapidly growing population vs declining energy source, and NO will to come up with alternatives since the government heavily subsides the least efficient ones. Maybe we could print our way to Keynesian prosperity because if the last 10 years have shown there's NO downside to that. What a fucking rube, must be from europe.
Oh...so you think price contol by the government in medicine is to subsidize doctors. You are incorrect sir. Try again..
dp - troll
Austrian's what do they know about economics? All I hear from them is 'G'day Mate' and 'Throw another shrimp on the barbi'.
The reason so many more are in jail in this country is because we pour more tax payer funds into ensuring that only our bosses should profit from the drug trade. "The War on Drugs" really means "maintain control of the flow"
Sorry don't mean to offend your sensibilities.
If "The War on Drugs" wasn't so profitable, it would be over by now.
If "The War on Poverty" wasn't so profitable, it would be over by now.
Fit this man with a tracer tag....he bears watching!!
"They will simply have to pay this price, since it will be mandated by law. But in any case, a failure to agree with the optimal price is a clear demonstration of ignorance, and the resulting social ostracism should be enough to enforce compliance."
You're almost as good as the original MDB.
Isn't everything you just said human action?
You present yourself as a blue blooded, ringlelted dandy with psychopathic tendencies seeking to insure his own lifstyle at the expense of others. You now realize you're going to have to sell those overvalued equity positions among yourselves don't you?
One wonders at what prices...don't look down...lol.
I will go out on a limb here (not really) and say the prices will be considerably lower when I come back around & pick through the ashes for those rings of yours.
But thanks for the laughs & your brand of Christmas cheer anyways ;-)
They shall pay the discount rate master. Retail does not exist.
Sounds like LEONID VITALIYEVICH KANTOROVICH was reincarnated in MDB.
Thank you professor Million for your brilliant contribution. I'm sure we can implement this plan as soon as we get funding through the appropriations committees.
It's also interesting to observe that at least six ZHers are completely incapable of recognizing even the most obvious possible sarcasm. I suggest we need more experiments in this potentially very fruitful field.
Sorry if it was sarcasm. My bad.
Not all was lost. I learned a bit about Leonid.
Do you have an appetite for discrete analysis?
Here's a video about linear threshold predicates and approximation resistance.
http://sms.cam.ac.uk/media/1097440
"at least six ZHers are completely incapable of recognizing even the most obvious possible sarcasm"
I'm sure they we're in shock from MDB_'s butchery of linear optimization.
You're crazy dude. From my life experiences, Austrians are far more often right about things than wrong and they have a great outlook on life. In fact, I'm working on my 4th Foster's right now................
Did you just mix up Austria and Australia or was that just one sarcasm corner i didn't take?
You drink Foster's cooo errrr! now that really is poor taste!
Fosters is Australian.....Arnold Schwarznegger is Austrian.
Cut him a break. He's on his fourth and they can come in really big cans. The Sperminator is from California. Hitler was from Austria.
Hitler was from Australia
You idiot.
He was a whelp of an Abo and a marmoset
Hitler was from Australia
You idiot.
He was a whelp of an Abo and a marmoset
No sane person in Australia drank Fosters....they have recently been purchased by a British brewer.
Tooth Sheaf Stout -- FTW!
I'm from the UK and even Im a Coopers Pale ale guy!
+1 for oil cans!
you are kidding right?
Bernanke's formula is p2 < 1.
MDB, you do a valuable service here, acting as the anti-Emmanuel Goldstein for the ZH Two Minute Hate. Putting this into some type of formula is a stroke of genius. As an obviously inferior being, I am not sure if my input is valuable enough for you to consider, but I think that you could enhance wi through selective breeding of the market participant. If I am not mistaken, this will also have a positive correlation on xi.
Quite right. I have already suggested something akin to this. Refer to my comment a few months ago:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/jon-stewarts-extended-interview-ron-paul#comment-1716791
“3. Employ a system for seeking out and selecting the potential economic leaders at a young age. This would involve setting up economics academies for teaching the most advanced Keynesian theories and pioneering ever more efficient capital-allocation models”
They are called Finance Academies... they already exists in Maryland. No joke.
+1
Stop
You're killin me
Gotta let me breathe
you sir are an Idiot or a establishment shill.. you think for one second that your ridiculous formulas can overpower common sense? You are part of a dying system. I hope you are paid well to act like such a fool.
You are one in six. Now let's see if the other five show up.
Yea - I am one of the 6ix ZHers who may not understand the sarcasm of your intelligence.
There is one thing I do know though.
Usury is the very foundation of why you are here at all and have any interest in your power to purchase over the next niggerslave to usury in this system.
As long as the 'brightest' minds are busy with dictating agendas for a fair and balanced civilization - there will never be a humanity reaching its potential.
Unlimited human potential being murdered by you - yes you. You fucking niggersalve to the idea that something can come from nothing.
Your units don't match. That is, you are saying that price in dollars equals intelligence times influence? That is no more true than an increasing rate of change in the money supply is the primary market driver while simply an increasing change in the money supply is not effective.
Actually I said “U(price)”, which is the utility/value of the price. I suggest you look up utility theory. I am inferring that more intelligent individuals have more valuable preferences than less intelligent individuals. That is the basis for this equation.
MDB, gotta love how you always say it with a straight face. Always entertaining.
Prepare for special FEMA camps for Austrians and their supporters.
For the ZHrs here is a blog I did showing the real GDP taking out governent, which is bull shit, and leaving the productive sectors.
http://usa-wethepeople.com/2011/12/what-is-the-real-gross-domestic-product-down-6-8-from-2007/
As you can see when the BS is stripped away we are in a world of shit.
So here is the GDP for the last 40 years in 2005 dollars (adjusted for inflation) with and without government.
Date…………GDP (billions)….GDP (- fed gov.) …Federal Consumption%…Labor Force %
1971-01-01…… 4409.5……….. 3549.6………………………. 19.5…………………….. 56.6
1972-01-01…… 4643.8……….. 3733.6………………………. 19.6…………………….. 57.0
1973-01-01…… 4912.8……….. 3994.1………………………. 18.7…………………….. 57.8
1974-01-01…… 4885.7……….. 3972.0………………………. 18.7…………………….. 57.8
1975-01-01…… 4875.4……….. 3836.9………………………. 21.3…………………….. 56.1
1976-01-01…… 5136.9……….. 4037.6………………………. 21.4…………………….. 56.8
1977-01-01…… 5373.1……….. 4255.4………………………. 20.8…………………….. 57.9
1978-01-01…… 5672.8……….. 4498.5………………………. 20.7…………………….. 59.3
1979-01-01…… 5850.1……….. 4674.2………………………. 20.1…………………….. 59.9
1980-01-01…… 5834.0……….. 4568.0………………………. 21.7…………………….. 59.2
1981-01-01…… 5982.1……….. 4654.1………………………. 22.2…………………….. 59.0
1982-01-01…… 5865.9……….. 4510.9………………………. 23.1…………………….. 57.8
1983-01-01…… 6130.9……….. 4690.1………………………. 23.5…………………….. 57.9
1984-01-01…… 6571.5……….. 5112.6………………………. 22.2…………………….. 59.5
1985-01-01…… 6843.4……….. 5283.1………………………. 22.8…………………….. 60.1
1986-01-01…… 7080.5……….. 5487.4………………………. 22.5…………………….. 60.7
1987-01-01…… 7307.0……….. 5728.7………………………. 21.6…………………….. 61.5
1988-01-01…… 7607.4……….. 5987.0………………………. 21.3…………………….. 62.3
1989-01-01…… 7879.2……….. 6208.8………………………. 21.2…………………….. 62.9
1990-01-01…… 8027.1……….. 6269.2………………………. 21.9…………………….. 62.8
1991-01-01…… 8008.3……….. 6222.4………………………. 22.3…………………….. 61.7
1992-01-01…… 8280.0……….. 6450.1………………………. 22.1…………………….. 61.4
1993-01-01…… 8516.2……….. 6693.7………………………. 21.4…………………….. 61.7
1994-01-01…… 8863.1……….. 7001.8………………………. 21.0…………………….. 62.5
1995-01-01…… 9086.0……….. 7214.3………………………. 20.6…………………….. 62.9
1996-01-01…… 9425.8……….. 7521.8………………………. 20.2…………………….. 63.2
1997-01-01…… 9845.9……….. 7925.9………………………. 19.5…………………….. 63.8
1998-01-01…… 10274.7…….. 8312.2………………………. 19.1…………………….. 64.1
1999-01-01…… 10770.7…….. 8778.1………………………. 18.5…………………….. 64.3
2000-01-01…… 11216.4…….. 9175.0………………………. 18.2…………………….. 64.4
2001-01-01…… 11337.5…….. 9274.1………………………. 18.2…………………….. 63.7
2002-01-01…… 11543.1…….. 9338.4………………………. 19.1…………………….. 62.7
2003-01-01…… 11836.4…….. 9504.6………………………. 19.7…………………….. 62.3
2004-01-01…… 12246.9…….. 9846.5………………………. 19.6…………………….. 62.3
2005-01-01…… 12623.0…….. 10111.0…………………….. 19.9…………………….. 62.7
2006-01-01…… 12958.5…….. 10353.8…………………….. 20.1…………………….. 63.1
2007-01-01…… 13206.4…….. 10617.9…………………….. 19.6…………………….. 63.0
2008-01-01…… 13161.9…….. 10437.4…………………….. 20.7…………………….. 62.2
2009-01-01…… 12703.1…….. 9527.3………………………. 25.0…………………….. 59.3
2010-01-01…… 13088.0…….. 9973.1………………………. 23.8…………………….. 58.5
2011 (est)…….. 13249.9…….. 9897.7………………………. 25.3…………………….. 58.2
As can be seen the productive sector of the economy peaked out in 2007 and is currently down 6.8% from the 2007 level. Trillions of dollars wasted to accomplish nothing more than allow politicians, Wall Street, and the Federal Reserve outbid the rest of Americans for the remaining real resources of production. Printing money, giving it to your friends, outbidding the peasants for goods and services, then telling the peasants that there is no recession, only positive economic growth.
The real growth for 2011 will be negative 0.8% in real terms when government spending is removed. I hope this removes any doubt that the ministry of information is feeding the peasants hopium and dopium.
"So here is the GDP for the last 40 years..."
And as always, as stated by the "inventor" of the GDP metric "the welfare of a nation can scarcely be inferred from a measure of income",
Kuznets, if I recall correctly, said this to a Senator.
Who promptly misunderstood what he was saying or disregarded it entirely for politcal expediency. So we are left, down through history, with a measure which means almost nothing, when fully one third of "GDP" is derived from government spending.
Which of course, the ability of government to spend, must come from taxation or come from printing something of value from thin air.
I'm reminded of the age old question, what happens when everything everyone has ever been taught, is a lie?
Merry Christmas ;-)
So by which measure should a nation's welfare be judged?
I'll open with...
...the ratio of children with lives better than their parents (by whatever definition they choose) to the population as a whole.
Call it a proxy for "class mobility" which is harder to pin down objectively.
Thats a good question.
A lot smarter people than I have pondered the question and I did notice you picked up on the central issue posed to a government official...the welfare of.
I would say yours is as good as any, but it ultimately relates to many things.
For the young i-shit is what they know. now Is this better or worse that someone can track you at every hour of the day? It wasn't always this way, it evolved. So can it be said that having the ability to have i-shit is better or worse? I think its a valid question. What was traded and what was lost?
There can also be no doubt that we don't have mass starvation here. But what of those who are on lifes edge and will stay there forever because it is so easy to be a serf to the printing machine. Is this moral and ethical to them...for them? That they can't ever hope to be free of it?
All interesting questions that I have very few answers for because they reside in every individual. I can't speak for them, only me.
...the ratio of children with lives better than their parents (by whatever definition they choose) to the population as a whole.
Call it a proxy for "class mobility" which is harder to pin down objectively.
'Class mobility' is zero sum. In the social mobility stakes, for every winner there's a loser.
It is Friday, please, no digital crap.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/40530212/Goldman_Sachs_2011_Forecast_Stocks_Gold_Oil_Higher
If S & P rises 185 points next week, they'll be spot on!
Here's another good CNBC / Onion Headline:
"US Government Spiraled Deeper in to Debt This Fiscal Year"
http://www.cnbc.com/id/45776248
Is CNBC just figuring this out? Actually, CNBC probably still thinks the debt of the US is no problem at all, even as it crosses 100% debt / GDP.
TheSilverJournal.com
>>
only this time with a $100 base in WTI. Which most certainly means that very soon the world will need to find an extended source of cheap energy (read oil). And everyone knows what that will be...
>>
Yep. We all know what that will be and the miraculous nirvana that will result from the new extended source, that everyone knows will be used. We have been preparing for the new stuff for decades. It's very exciting.
Oh yes, *very* exciting. I've seen it firsthand.
It's a game changer. Incredibly innovative.
It will change the way cities are designed.
Does Hopium come in 55 gallon drums? Hmmmmm......
No, but slurpees do (and in slightly smaller sizes, too)
Soylent green?
That's the byproduct of the new and abudant energy source from bipedal ambidextrous meat robots given central programmed authority to deliver services.
When these devices wear out, then they become Solyent green.
Nuclear. Although Fukushima is a fly in the ointment.
CO... Bill Bonner has a very good short read on this topic today...
http://dailyreckoning.com/correcting-the-growth-of-human-history/
$100 base WTI is still as cheap as it's ever been inflation adjusted. Gasoline (and it's source, oil) is not under any unusual pressures with respect to supply and demand until the inflation corrected price of gas falls below ~$0.18 or rises above ~$0.32/gallon as priced in pre-1965 silver denominated US coinage for over approximately a 6-12 month period.
When that happens, I might perk up a bit over "peak oil" hysteria, but until then, [YAWN]...
Axenolith,
Are you on crack? Do you realize oil was about $10 barrel in 1999. You are just wrong here.
You know how much money has been printed between now and then?
Nobody appearently knows.
Well, that's why it's called a SHADOW banking system, you big silly!
This is not what Occam's Razor would say.
Why contort yourself into using a default presumption of infinite oil flow and changing the denomination of the yardstick? Why is this the straightforward answer, in comparison to the very simple and straightforward acknowlegement that the Earth's interior volume is not infinite and therefore what comes out of the interior cannot be infinite?
But unlimited cheap energy is our birthright! The American Way of Life is non-negotiable!
...Chinese solar stocks?