The Fed has undertaken the same front-loading of the US economy for three years in a row (QE1, QE2, and Operation Twist) and each of the three times the performance of the US equity market to this sudden flush of liquidity has been almost identical in terms of velocity (speed and direction) - even though the underlying macroeconomic impact has been lesser and lesser as we pointed out here earlier [3]. What is also most notable is that as we head into April (as Biderman reminds us, a typically positive 'flow' month for US equities given the tax-based moves and quarter-start) we are nearing what has been the inflection point in the previous two pump-and-hope episodes. While sounding eerily bullish in the very short-term, Charles is critically clear that he expects the short-lived nature of money-printing's impact on the market economy to fade rapidly as he fully expects the government agencies to revise their growth expectations more in line with his 'fact'-based growth expectations which are considerably lower. Though he notes the timing of the election may mean more of a sustained 'hope', the fact that in 2012 (starting Nov2011) equity performance is better now than the previous two Fed-infused rallies is perhaps why corporate insider-selling is so dominating insider-buying now through March. The avuncular antagonist concludes with his expectations that once the April surge is done with (which it may already have done today?) he fully expects the stock market to give up all its first quarter gains (and need we remind you that high yield credit is sending the very same signals of concern that it did in Q2 of the previous 2 rallies).
The last three Fed-infused rallies - fourth month fade...
[4]