Here we are again. It's been quite a run for the Nasdaq – up 50% since last July and it only took $8Tn (40% of our GDP) in stimulus spending to get there. ; 9,736 was our pre-Covid high so all this hoopla is over and above where we were. ; In fact, in 2019, the Nasdaq was generally at 7,500, so we're up 100% in two years – yay! The current PE for the Nasdaq is 38.37 times earnings. ; The S&P 500 is at 36.6 so just as crazy and the P/E for the Russell 2,000 has now broken the meter at the Wall Street Journal – having passed 100 times earnings. ; Of course everyone ESTIMATES they will do better in the next 12 months and the last 12 momths were… [Read More...]

I don't know what people think is going to happen? ; The Fed meets next week and they certainly aren't going to LOWER rates, are they? ; According to Powell and others, they are in no hurry to raise them but, as you can see from this chart, inflation is rising about twice as fast as wages so our workers are falling further and further behind in buying power. ; This effect is, however, masked by stimulus checks that boost spending power – that's the key to our "great" economy this year. Labor ;supply shortages are still ;evident across all sorts of industries. The ;latest survey ;of manufacturers from the Institute for Supply Management cites complaints from makers of furniture, chemical products, machinery and electrical products… [Read More...]