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Smooth sailing unlikely

Inefficient market portends bumpy recovery

Inefficient markets have consequences that may be prickly for incautious investors.

Markets can be inefficient for different reasons and persist for long periods. The transition between one type of inefficient market to the next is usually a period of strife and uncertainty which may last five to fifteen years. Looking back at how the economy emerged from previous transitions, I note that in each new period, equity prices started at reasonable levels. This was true at the beginning of the Roaring Twenties, the Post WW II Period, and the Reagan Era. It is as if markets, recognizing prior inefficiencies ‘reset’ and start over. However, for the current market to ‘reset’, it will be necessary for equity prices to fall considerably, which will have dire consequences.

Featured articles on inside pages

Stock buybacks

Stock buybacks, refusing to die, live on

In Q1 2009, stock buybacks came back, driving up equity prices and sparking a rally by dominating a thin market. These equity repurchases were financed from depreciation and bond issues. More ...

Securities Analysis

Operational versus financial information

The Crash of 2008 suggests that understanding the operational details of capital markets can be as important as financial analysis. This article discusses Capital Market Taxonomy in this context. More ...

US Politics

President Obama's Lincoln moment

In mid 2009, Barack Obama found that Lincoln's saying, "You can't fool all of the people all of the time," applied to his presidency. Profligate spending and unpopular health reform ended Obama's honeymoon. More ...

US equities

Sarbanes-Oxley and the shortage of equities

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, by discouraging companies to go public, will exacerbate the shortage of equities, with a negative effect on the US stock market, although this was not the intent of its authors. Poorly drafted, ill-conceived, and unfair this law does little to protect investors.
More ...

US Bonds

The collapse of the dollar and US bonds?

The extreme spending of the Obama government, combined with irresponsible bank lending policies promoted by Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, portend rising interest rates, the collapse of the bond market, and the end of dollar supremacy. More ...

World Economy

Signs of US losing its groove?

Thirty years ago, US income from abroad was more than double the amount of income that the US paid to the rest of the world. This year, or the next, this foreign income surplus may disappear forever. Is the US 'losing its groove'? More ...

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Capital Flow Watch has hundreds of articles on economics and investments.

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Stock Quotes

DJIA10860.26  chart +1.86%
NASDAQ2381.22  chart +2.33%
S&P 5001148.67  chart +2.12%

Ftse 1005598.48  chart +0.93%
Dax6298.30  chart +1.84%
Cac 403782.48  chart +1.94%

Nikkei 2259471.67  chart -0.99%
Hang Seng Index22119.43  chart +0.33%
Straits Times Ind3092.68  chart +0.31%

Eur To Usd1.35  chartN/A
Usd To Jpy84.19  chartN/A
Gbp To Usd1.58  chartN/A

2010-09-24 16:01