Rosenberg

The WSJ's Greg Zuckerman has published a Q&A with one of the world's biggest deflationists (who nonetheless admits that once QE 2 begins all bets are off): David Rosenberg. Here is how Rosie sees the world of finance over next 2 years, and provdes more color on his currently favorite investment strategy (aside from bonds): SIRP (Safety and Income at a Reasonable Price... and in keeping with acronyms RIP GARP).

We have been observing the recent collapse of the ECRI index in all its glory over the past several months. As we have discussed previously, this is one of David Rosenberg's preferred leading indicators. Below we present some of his summary observations on the four distinct cycle in the ECRI index, with an emphasis on the current one, which as Rosie highlights is Phase IV - Recession (Zero to Trough), in which the S&P drops by 6.4%, and the worst performing assets are consumer discretionary, industrials and tech, contrary to what has been performing the best over the past six months. Time for some sector rotation.

To all those fewer and fewer optimists who believe the economy may avoid a double dip (or alternatively suffer the realization it never really got out of the depression in the first place), David Rosenberg provides a glimpse just how tenuous the so-called recovery has been, even despite the unprecedented attempts by everyone at the top to shepherd the economy into growth at any cost, and the daily reminder from Ben Bernanke that risk is dead and the Fed will never let capital markets drop again. As for the future, Rosie asks the logical question: how is it that earnings are expected to grow by 20% in 2011, when it is becoming increasingly obvious that GDP growth next year will be negative?

It seems everyone is perplexed by the most recent irrational bout of July market action. Like clockwork, once July rolls in, the market surges, no questions asked. This year, the ramp is particularly blatant because as the attached chart demonstrates, bonds, which are a far more credible barometer of market (in)sanity, indicate the S&P is rich by at about 50 points. As this spread will most certainly converge eventually as we discussed previously, a short stock, short bond position would generate some much needed P&L in this world of deranged fractal algorithms. As to what may have caused the most recent bout of irrational exuberance, David Rosenberg has the most logical, and generic solution: excess liquidity and a short covering spree, and "nothing fundamental here."

With the imminent launch of the Q2 earnings season, below is a summary of consensus for year-over-year top and bottom line performance. In summary, the outlook is for a 12% pick up in top line YoY (ex fins), and pretty much staying flat at that level of outperformance for the next 2 quarters, and for a 41% rise in EPS compared to Q2 of 2009 per Bloomberg consensus estimates. For those looking for further granularity, David Rosenberg presents a detailed break down sector by sector, and warns of the risks to betting it all on the earnings parade, even as analysts are once again at near all time record bullishness on stocks.As a reminder, the consensus view is for a 2010 absolute EPS of 82, and for a simply ridiculous all time record 96 in 2011, higher than the 88 seen all the all time high three years ago, when the economy had the benefit of a multi-trillion shadow credit system. Who knows, maybe the Fed can take over that full responsibility as well.

Today, Freddie Mac announced that the 30 Year FRM declined to a new all time record low, dropping by 1 bp to 4.57% from the week before. Yet even as mortgage rates hit fresh weekly records courtesy of the Fed's undisputed control of the mortgage market, the only thing increasingly more certain is that even at 0.00% there is precious little marginal demand in the primary market for housing. Here are the latest observations from Rosie on precisely this phenomenon, and much more.

"Taking into the year as whole, with the S&P 500 off nearly 8%, this goes down as the worst first half to any year since 2002." - David Rosenberg

"What is becoming clearer, especially after the latest reports on housing starts, permits, resales and builder sentiment surveys, is that housing is already double dipping in the U.S. The MBA statistics just came out for the week of June 18 and the new purchase index fell 1.2% – down 36.5% from year-ago levels and that year-ago level itself was down 22% from its year-ago level. Capish, paisan? So far, June is averaging 14.5% below May’s level and May was crushed 18% sequentially, so do not expect what is likely to be an ugly new home sales report for May today to be just a one-month wonder. Meanwhile, the widespread view out of the economics community is that we will see at least 3% growth in the second half of the year: fat chance of that." - David Rosenberg

Some terrific insight from Rosie on the future:

• Deflation: own income-generating securities, which include dividend yield and dividend growth.
• Corporate balance sheet strength and liquidity: own corporate bonds with liquidity, marginal refinancing needs and stable cash flows.
• Intense volatility: invest in classic hedge funds — true long-short strategies that preserve capital and minimize fluctuations in the portfolio.
• Ongoing sovereign credit concerns and recurring rounds of currency depreciation: ensure the portfolio has a core holding in precious metals (gold and silver). These are effective hedges against lingering concerns over the stability of the global monetary system.

We see no shortage of market commentators claiming that investors should be buying into this rapid selloff. Of course, these commentators never saw a correction coming in any event. Our advice is to be patient and disciplined and let the market do the talking. - David Rosenberg

The “pig farmers” at the prop desks at the big banks, the ones who drove the last leg of the bear market rally, seem to be placing their bets the other way right now and with few bids, the prices are adjusting lower (the ‘flash crash’ was an exaggerated version of how a market can move when there is no bid). Since much of the bear market rally off the March 2009 lows was technical rather than fundamental in nature, one cannot rule out a move down towards the 900-950 area for the S&P 500, which is where a classic retracement would take it; not to mention where it would offer fair-value on a normalized P/E ratio basis.

In today's note by David Rosenberg, the economist quotes a reader letter which provides a unique perspective on how hyperinflation arises: it is not so much a monetary supply/demand phenomenon, as it is one of faith in a currency, any currency. With the world stuck with the USD as a reserve currency, the question is how much more monetization and QE (and make no mistake, the Fed will be forced to do more of both of these activities) needs to occur before people give up on the greenback. And for all those who question what could possibly take the place of the dollar as the world reserve currency, we would like to point out that any country that has a massive stockpile of resources, an even more massive producing class (as opposed to consuming), a clean sovereign balance sheet, and a society hell-bent on being far more capitalist than the US, would likely make a great target. One specific country in Asia comes to mind. However, this will not occur before the next global economic collapse as century-old habits are difficult things to break. Once the economic reset button is pushed half way once again, and the US-China vassal linkage is broken, look for fund flows to redirect promptly across the Pacific.

"Here’s the deal on gold. When we had the post-Lehman collapse, gold fell from $900 to $720 an ounce but it still managed to outperform other commodities and rise in many other currencies, outside the U.S. dollar. That post-Lehman collapse phase was a giant margin call where investors sold their winners, like precious metals, and on top that, there was insatiable appetite for dollars from the global banking system caught short of greenbacks.

What is happening today is truly fascinating. Gold has broken out to the upside even as the U.S. dollar has done likewise on the back of a renewed flight-to-safety bid. What this means, of course, is that gold has managed to hit new highs even as, (i) the U.S. dollar has risen, which means gold is breaking out against all major currencies; and, (ii) other industrial commodities, such as oil and copper, have slumped from their recent highs. So what this all means is that gold is no longer being considered as part of a resource complex that is outperforming the segment but is increasingly being viewed as a currency of its own." - David Rosenberg

"There are classic signs indeed that the recession in the U.S. ended last summer — output, sales, etc. But the depression is ongoing and the reason we say that is because real personal income, excluding handouts from the government, has barely budged. In fact, real organic personal income is nearly $500 billion lower now than it was at the peak 16 months ago and this has never occurred before coming out of any technical recession. It is a depression, as the chart below attests — that is the trendline for real household incomes, until the government comes in to top them off with handouts, subsidies and extended jobless benefits. The share of U.S. personal income being derived from Uncle Sam’s generosity has risen above 18% for the first time ever." - David Rosenberg

David Rosenberg is out with some very fitting analogies of the current sovereign crisis. If he is proven prescient, which we have no doubt he will, the Greek near-default will have massiverepercussions to the entire developed world when all is said and done."In my opinion, Greece is the same canary in the coal mine that Thailand was for emerging Asia in 1997, which ultimately led to the Russian debt default and demise of LTCM; the same canary in the coal mine that New Century Financial in early 2007 proved to be in terms of being a leading indicator for the likes of Bear Stearns and Lehman. So, the most dangerous thing to do now is to view Greece as a one-off crisis that will be contained." Furthermore, as he makes all too clear, if a $1 trillion bailout can only buy 400 points in teh Dow, Europe, aside from all the other fundamentals which confirm the same, is doomed, and even the ever-optimistic market now realizes it. Lastly, should Europe pursue the required austerity measures, the hit to European GDP will be massive, and is certainly not being priced in European stocks, but certainly not in US stocks, whose primary export market is about to disappear.