Free Republic

The Greatest Depression is Coming. That’s no exaggeration. It will be worse in many respects than the Great Depression of 1929-1939. But those who are prepared will prosper. The First Signs Are Already Here The most noticeable sign is in unemployment. Sure, the official unemployment rate is low as of the time of this writing (5.7%), but the standard used to measure unemployment is seriously flawed. For example, that standard does not include “discouraged” workers; that is, those who have given up looking for work. It also doesn’t include the “underemployed,” who are highly trained but can’t find jobs in...

This is an abbreviated Bulletin. The liquidity and speculation-driven U.S. stock market came to life again. For the week, the Dow and S&P500 added about 2%. The Utilities and Morgan Stanley Consumer indices also gained about 2%. Economically sensitive issues outperformed, with the Transports gaining 3% and the Morgan Stanley Cyclical index increasing 4% (up 38% y-t-d). The S&P Homebuilding index jumped 5% this week, increasing y-t-d gains to 98%. The S&P Retail Stores index added 3% this week, with 2003 gains of 44%. The broader market caught fire. The small cap Russell 2000 jumped almost 4%, increasing year-to-date gains...

Over-liquefied markets came flying back this week. For the week, the Dow and S&P500 gained about 2%. The Utilities were unchanged, while the Morgan Stanley Consumer index added 2%. Not surprisingly, economically sensitive issues and sectors continue to outperform. For the week, the Morgan Stanley Cyclical index jumped 5%, increasing y-t-d gains to 36.5%. The Transports added 3% (up 26.0% y-t-d). This week saw the S&P Homebuilding index added 4% (up 82% y-t-d), and the S&P Steel index surged 10% (up 34% y-t-d). The broader market performed well. The small cap Russell 2000 jumped 4% (up 38% y-t-d) and...