With the first quarter of the year behind us, investors must now deal with the reality of QE4: the resumption of the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing program in which bonds yield next to nothing and the fiat money printing machine is cranked up to full capacity.
It’s unfortunate, but true: most investors only take a stake in their home country’s economy, which is a grave error because a truly diversified portfolio is international in scope.
Despite the stock market’s recent volatility, the relentless bull market in stocks over the past decade has made the vast majority of analysts afraid to call an end to the euphoria phase. There’s one analyst, however, whose daring and spot-on market calls make him the exception to the rule.
On Wednesday and on Thursday, we saw record up-days with the major indices. It’s not a surprise, given how oversold they were, on a short-term basis, but looking at 2019, we know that central banks want to keep tightening rates and shrinking their balance sheets.
The markets are so close to falling below support that the possibility of another excruciating 10% correction must be considered and braced for.