There are more cracks appearing in the markets, not just in the
US. More stocks and markets are hitting lows, there are more rapid
drops occurring. I read an article recently talking about the
misnomer of talking heads when they start calling it a "stock
pickers market". They say that because not everything is going up
in lock step any more, which is the same thing as saying the bull
market is ending and therefore it's really a time to be getting
more defensive when they start using those words.
The events in China are shocking. Even after the recent decline,
their market was up 75% in 12 months, in a declining economy, but
that's not enough for the central planners. They lowered rates,
banned funds from selling, banned large holders (5% in a stock)
from selling, then finally threatened "malicious short sellers"
with torture and hard labor camps to stem the decline.
Now the markets are cheering the latest Greece debt proposal,
which is apparently one the voters have already said no to, and the
country is in even worse shape than last month and last year, but
can kicking is all important.
It's scary how rapid all these extreme steps are coming,
world-wide, and how "New Normal" it's become, to the point that
everything must be priced in therefore nothing is a big deal.
Santelli makes a good case in the video here asking if investments
are now entitlements, and should the Central Banks and govts
therefore bail out investors too, if it goes wrong? After all, they
have herded everyone into those waters and assured them it's
completely safe, over and over.
A few years ago we used to hear the term "moral hazard" often.
You notice nobody ever mentions it any more? That ship has sailed
long ago. We're way past that now.
youtube.com/wa...XHZmb0