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https://wolfstreet.com/2020/03/29/corruption-in-the-time-of-coronavirus-fed-treasury-corporate/ https://wolfstreet.com/2020/03/26/helicopter-money-for-wall-street-federal-reserve-assets-balance-sheet/   The link above shows the extreme and extensive measures taken by the Fed this week, and the extraordinary acceleration in the Fed balance sheet. There’s much more to come. Jim Rickards analyses the The CARES Act, in the … Continue reading →

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-18/stanley-druckenmiller-is-embracing-risk-again-just-timidly?mc_cid=ae838a4f94&mc_eid=d27ddc011b If there is a better long term record by an investment manager than that of Stan Druckenmiller then I’d like to see it. So we are fortunate whenever we get an update on his views. I believe that the … Continue reading →

Central Banks Are Committing To Intervention, As Earnings And GDP Growth Continue To Decline.  “Monetary policy can no longer be the main engine of economic growth, and other policy drivers need to kick in to ensure the global economy achieves … Continue reading →

Q3 2019 Review: Growth Down Interventions Up. I believe that on examining the post 2008 economic data, and comparing this recovery with past recoveries, the constant theme is Growth down interventions up.  In 2019 that experience  accelerated to a new … Continue reading →

Pay attention to precious metals  “If you don’t own gold…there is no sensible reason other than you don’t know history or you don’t know the economics of it…“ Ray Dalio, Founder of Bridgewater https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-14/ray-dalio-if-you-dont-own-gold-you-either-dont-know-history-or-economics In Dalio’s opinion, and my own, … Continue reading →

https://e-markets.nordea.com/#!/article/49828/week-ahead-all-about-that-fed I believe the relationship between data and the S&P 500 has been unprecedented in 2019. Looking at the chart above you see 2 very significant divergences in this relationship this year: 1. Historically data has preceded or been coincident … Continue reading →

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-06-05/disconnect-between-economy-stocks-record-highs The disconnect between global data and stocks has never been wider. I believe there is a simple explanation. In my opinion record amounts of dystopian interventions, both in the economy and markets, are becoming increasingly ineffective and possibly even … Continue reading →

Building a tower with blocks of wood can only go so far. It seems to work well in the beginning but at some point you know that every block you add is just one step closer to creating collapse. You … Continue reading →

“The number of zombie companies in advanced economies last year stood at 536, or 13% of the total, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.” https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/31/investing/stocks-week-ahead-zombie-companies-debt/index.html A September 2018 BIS report wonders whether this is setting a low interest rate … Continue reading →

If you feel as though you are walking through an Alice in Wonderland film set, you are probably not alone. It appears “Out of sample” market experiences are proliferating across many market measures. I believe this “out of sample” experience … Continue reading →

Global growth is uniquely challenged with PMIs in significant downtrends at the same time in the US, China, Japan and Germany.  The US is the only one of these 4 countries where the PMI is not already in outright contraction. … Continue reading →

From Risk To Instability For much of Summer 2018 I wrote about the multiple market extremes that emerged, and the associated substantial increase in risk. http://chrisbelchamber.com/10-extremes-mean-risk-in-financial-never-never-land/ Shortly following, volatility accelerated higher and 2018 ended as one of the worst years … Continue reading →

Global policy makers considered a 20% fall in the S&P 500 a concern, and changed their language around the end of 2018. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-10/powell-says-fed-is-waiting-and-watching-with-patience-on-rates Historically, policy operating procedure responds by increasing either debt or liquidity to support equities. Liquidity is preferable … Continue reading →

Portfolio Return To Risk Chart. Far more information. By showing risk in addition to return a great deal more is revealed. The left hand vertical line represents return, while the horizontal line represents the standard deviation of daily returns. The … Continue reading →

Tower Club, Tysons, VA 11am 12th January 2019 including lunch Chris Belchamber, Belpointe Asset Management What are the best practices of the most successful investors? Few seem to be clear and stray towards suboptimal outcomes. Chris will explain how this happens … Continue reading →

https://wolfstreet.com/2018/10/16/who-bought-the-1-6-trillion-of-new-us-national-debt-treasury-securities-foreign-domestic/ Investors in US equities should no longer be under illusions about what is the main driver of the rally since 2009. Debt, and government debt in particular. Attribution was examined in detail here: http://chrisbelchamber.com/stock-market-rally-attribution-debt-dependence-cyclical-risk/ The S&P 500 has left … Continue reading →

Free Webinar 7pm to 8pm Monday November 5th Transform Your Investment Mindset. Transform Your Long Term Wealth Accumulation. The challenge of becoming a successful long term investor is rarely addressed in full. Without the proper foundation the markets will find … Continue reading →

Q3 2018 Quarterly Review. Debt, Cycles, and Mindset. Clarity Market conditions Buybacks Debt and Cycles Cycle sages Strategy Risk Assessment Execution and monitoring Summary and Mindset polarization ————————- Clarity In my view this is a very unusual time for investors … Continue reading →

Step 5. Defining The Most Important Investment Assessment Metrics. “Consideration of risk must never take a backseat to return.” Seth Klarman https://www.slideshare.net/vlad0/seth-klarman-the-forgotten-lessons-of-2008 “Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget Rule No. 1.”  Warren Buffett https://www.forbes.com/sites/agoodman/2013/09/25/the-top-40-buffettisms-inspiration-to-become-a-better-investor/#4d6752e97ccb “One … Continue reading →

“An economic recovery based around high debt is really no recovery” Larry Elliott This list of extremes seems to add up to a kind of financial “Never Never Land”. Most investors seem unaware of the extent and historic nature of … Continue reading →

Step4. The Simple And Essential Math Of Investing. Very little is more important, when it comes to investing than understanding the basic dynamics of risk and return and how to use these two crucial concepts to your best advantage. In … Continue reading →

A clearer idea of the main drivers of the multi-year US stock market rally provides new insight about its durability and substance. The main causes of the rally can materially change perspectives about the outlook. Cycles allow for both bulls … Continue reading →

Step 3: Focused Alignment With Suitable Strategy. Avoiding Impulse Triggers And Linear Thinking. Debunking Investment Myths. “You’ve got to be careful if you don’t know where you’re going, ’cause you might not get there.”  Yogi Berra “With every new wave … Continue reading →

Positions, Valuations, And Cycles. All At Challenging Extremes. “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” Warren Buffett “I believe that the highest probability bet you can make in your investment strategy is that human nature … Continue reading →

Investment Mindset Bootcamp. Stop Gambling. Start Accumulating Long Term Wealth. Step 2. Step 2 of 7: How psychology and technology can improve your investing Step 1 focused mainly on describing the broad challenge of increasing the probability of long term … Continue reading →