Originally Posted by
senecacaptain
the economy is improving. the markets have already improved, and continue to do so.
the markets lead the economy. We also saw this in 2007-2009 when the markets started to deteriorate as early as 2006 but every Tom Dick and Harry were buying real estate investment DVD's from late night TV ads and deciding to become real estate millionaires via easy mortgages and lending. However the stock markets were starting to die off in mid-2006.
The stock markets are at or near ALL-TIME HIGHS! That is my point. The current markets are merely a function of near zero interest rates and money creation by the Fed. Precisely why Gold is taking off (as a hedge against this inflation).
What evidence do you possess of an improving economy? I cannot even see even any anecdotal evidence in my town, state, or during my travels.
The 200 DMA of the Dow and S&P were both positive the entire year of 2006 and 2007. In fact, even the 50 DMA was positive most of the same time frame. The 200-day didn't turn negative until Jan 2008. How is that even kind of "dying off?"
In practice, the stock market should be an indicator of our country's economic performance, but it has been so distorted by fiscal and monetary policy decisions that it has been reduced to merely a casino...and a roulette table at that.