Because of the incredible changes in our economy (and the pace of change) brought about by technology, the old rules and metrics just don't work to reliably predict the market or the economy.
Imagine compressing all the technological and industrial changes of the 20th century into a single decade.
The Model T guys over at Ford are laughing at the buggy whip makers, completely oblivious to the Boeing 777's right behind them. And Boeing engineers are laughing at the Model T guys while right behind them...
It's a whole new ballgame.
Who knows where it all goes? There are just about as many so called experts who say 20% up as there are who say 26% down. The fundamentals suggest doldrums but what do I or anyone know? They have supposedly had the higher interest rates baked in for a year and yet they, the market, run from one side of the boat to the other nearly each day if not every week with some new glee or disaster in their sights.
Cramer, another “expert”, gave us his six obvious points on what will turn the market. He is also the man whose Club Portfolio has done less than half as well in 21 years than just buying the S&P and letting it ride. In fact, hardly any money manager ever beats the segment index he is up against except for the Dow which is not a real index. Hard for me to hitch a wagon to such as these.
I am shocked and dismayed thought that I nor many others saw how artificial, bc of all the stimulus pumped into the economy, the rocket of ‘21 was and did not take all the profit they could at the end of that year. Some did, but not many. There have been other such years but not very often.
With the Fed closing their balance sheet built up over 13 years in just 3 years with two more to go I don’t see anything good coming in that time.
I keep trying to comfort myself by saying I have laid in for another 4 year’s siege but watching the market writhe like a snake stuck in tar is like balancing on the edge of a cliff.