Inside the Bubble

Financial Sense Newshour ^ | May 6, 2017 | James Puplava

[JustTheTruth]

What is the biggest bubble of our day? In today’s Big Picture podcast, Jim Puplava explains how stock prices are being driven to record valuations as investors herd into index ETFs. This is a self-feeding frenzy, he states, where fundamental analysis doesn’t apply. Next, he discusses “Oil: The Coming Age of Volatility,” looking at the recent drop and why we are moving into an era of boom and bust.

MP3 Audio Link Here

[existentially_kuffer]

Pump and Dump.

[Steely Tom]

Oil has been boom and bust since Edwin Drake.

[SkyPilot]

You will get a lot of pushback for posts like this from posters here who have a lot invested (financial and emotional) in the overvalued market.

[existentially_kuffer]

Of course this: This is why trying to predict stock-market tops is an exercise in futility — Marketwatch

[PAR35]

Look at the fundamentals. EPS, price-earnings ratio, management, non-company specific market trends, etc.

A stock with a history of no earnings and high prices isn’t an investment, it’s a gamble. It might pay off, and your horse may win at the track, but one really does need to see the difference between the two.

[JesusIsLord]

The market goes up; the market goes down. Buy low; sell high. Trying to time the market is an exercise in futility. These common mantras that we hear. The question investors ask themselves is, "how does one invest in light of these realities?"

Some would say, stay out of the casino and buy CDs and redeemable bonds, which offer little return but are "safe". Others would not argue that the market is a casino and in some ways "fixed", but that you can counter these negatives via some strategy. E.g., Bogleheads Org .

What say you? Is investing in the stock market smart? If not, what's better? Any investing strategies out there better than Bogle's?

[JustTheTruth]

At my age (near retirement), I can’t afford to take much downside risk, so I have little in stocks at this time. I also have little in bonds, because while interest rates may drop back down again, the risk of rising interest rates over time is too great for me...

Until recently I would have said that I favor new income producing residential real estate investments to produce cash flow, but where I live, even the real estate is getting pretty highly inflated again.

So, I’m mostly sitting on the sidelines right now with investment assets; staying liquid, waiting until it is clear that there are some good buys, somewhere! Meanwhile, the inflation tax is eating away at principal...

Not a great time for investment, in my opinion.

[JesusIsLord]

Not a great time for investment, in my opinion.

I would agree completely!

I too have little in stocks. A 401K value fund and CDs represent the bulk of my investments. I also hold some money in an intermediate Treasury bond fund, which has not done very well. When the market crashes, there will be a flight to safety, in which case I believe Treasuries in general should do well.