Posted on 03/12/2014 8:12:59 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
March 9, 2014, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Stock caution urged as margin debt levels hit new highs
P/E valuations, record highs flash warnings; stock pickers look for quality, value
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — A number of warning signals are flashing in the stock market, and while not indicative of an imminent crash, they’re telling investors to exercise caution, say market strategists.
Stocks finished higher last week, ending on a choppy Friday highlighted by the release of a better-than-expected job report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.8%, the S&P 500 Index rose 1% to close at another record high of 1,878.04, and the Nasdaq Composite Index finished up 0.7% for the week. All except the Dow are higher for the year, which is still down 0.8% in 2014.
The gains haven’t come without a share of fretting that the good times can’t last. Among the warnings signs: The indexes’ string of record highs; high levels of margin debt, or borrowings to finance stock buys; the slim number of prior bull markets that have lasted past this point; and valuations that are close to levels when stocks last peaked.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
P!
Lot of noise, very little signal.
There is no better way to deceive yourself by planting goofball ideas and misimpressions in your own brain than to read generalistic media stories about “the market” like this one.
That is not to say that this particular prediction or observation is right or wrong.
There is NO OTHER STATEMENT issued by CBS that this forum places the slightest bit of credibility in.
Why would or should this one be different?
More doomsday naysay. I see articles like this on FR every other day and generally laugh at the affirmations.
Margins is gambling, as is very short-term trading.
Long term, being vigilant, is the way to go.
I have never understood borrowing on bubbles to buy more.
“Turn those machines back on!”
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