Are any of you watching what is happening to housing right now? As reported by Forbes.com’s Eric Carlyle Existing Home Sales Fall 5.1% In January 2014, To Lowest Level Since July 2012 and yet, our S&P still gains ground…..hhhmmm…..
As reported by Lucia Mutikani with Reuters, Housing Starts, Permits Tumble; Mortgage Applications Fall and yet, our S&P still gains ground….hhmm….
As reported by Greg Robb of MarketWatch.com, Philly Fed Manufacturing Weakens in February, index dropped sharply….to a negative 6.3 from a positive 9.4 in January and, yet our S&P still gains ground…hhmm…
As reported by Emily Fox at CNN Money, even consumers are holding back as her article headline reads, Wal-Mart Wars of Soft Start to Year and, yet our S&P still gains ground…hhmm…
Some anaylsis say the weather and cold temps are to blame however, sure, the cold weather may not have made things better but, if our country is so weak, it can’t even take a colder than “normal” (Whatever that is) winter…then I am left to ask, just where are we fiscally…really? Better yet, how is it the S&P can make modest gains in this atmosphere of negative reports?
Oh…I almost forgot, let’s not forget about the last two job reports…..can we say ouch! At some point, the market can’t sustain, especially now with the fed pulling back on Quantitative Easing this year. I am sounding the alarm once again and I really do believe I am correct, this is the year of the “double dip” recession. I say “double dip” in quotes because, I never believed we ever came out of a recession in the first place but, let’s go with the popular misconception we did, hence the quotations around the word, “double dip”.
More now than ever before, since 2007, if we stumble, we will take a much larger hit than any of us that didn’t live through the Great Depression will experience. Why do I say that well, it’s simple, our economy isn’t starting off from a place of strength, as I outlined above. Back in 2006, when the real estate bubble burst, our economy was booming so, the hit we took was bad, even worse than the Great Depression but, most Americans in the Middle and Upper class didn’t make many significant changes to their daily lives whereas the lower class was obliterated. This time around, our economy is not in a position to take another hit like that and if it does, you will see middle class America take the brunt and once again, the lower class will receive the equivalent to a economic nuke being dropped on their heads.
Now, let’s add in expected increases in health care cost due to our Presidents fundamental transformation of our country, increased taxes as we don’t have an in power opposition party to the liberal / progressive agenda being pushed in Washington DC and well, 2014 will be a year we won’t forget, that is for sure.
