December 10, 2024

– Worldwide economies weak (eg Europe, Russia, Japan)
– Fiscal stimulus money in US losing steam
– No room for more fiscal stimulus
– Near 0 percent for Fed fund rate. Rates plan on rising next year
– Anticipation of end of QE3 in Oct
– No room for more monetary stimulus
– Indexes have hit all time highs during summer
– Nasdaq stocks way overvalued (Apple has a market cap over half a trillion)
– Falling oil prices
– Global risks – ISIS, Ebola, Ukraine
– Historic lows on bond, note rates. Rising rates would adversely affect bond holders.
– Rising rates would increase debt obligations of debt-ridden countries (including the US)
– No major corrections in market since 2008 recession
– Secular bull market for past 5 years. It’s due for a secular bear market.