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No Fear!!!
Iran drops another bombshell.
Euro emerging.
Technical analysis of Gold and Stocks by: Garrett Jones
Editors note: The 2007 forecast issues will be beginning January 16th and
run through the January 26th editions of Tedbits, don't miss it. It will be
thought provoking!!!
NO FEAR!!!
I have been an observer of the markets since 1982, and never have I seen what
is now unfolding. It is enormous in its scale, and breathtaking in its breadth.
It is a symptom of a global malady, that problem is fiat money and credit creation.
Never in history have so many Central Banks been on the money printing train,
the bust will be equally enormous. But it could be years before we see its
teeth, and until then...
There is so much money looking for any place to land that has some returns,
any returns!! Its owners don't care about the risks, They have NO FEAR and
will engage any asset class just to get some returns. Corporate bonds, Emerging
market bonds, Junk Bonds, Stocks, Real Estate, and hard assets worldwide are
on a tear, and its up, up and away for every stock index in the world. Stock
indexes worldwide look like mirror images of each other.


Dow Jones 30
GET THE PICTURE? Those are the footprints of Central Bank Money and credit
creation worldwide!!!
It has now been all time record 901 days since the Dow has had a 2 percent
down day. The VIX index published by the CBOE measuring stock investors fear
is at 15 year lows. The index fell to 9.39 on December 15th. Its all time record
low was 9.31 in December 1993. Only 8 times in history has it closed below
10 and 3 of those times happened in the last two months. Now lets look at the
charts from a recent Wall Street Journal article detailing the declining levels
of risk across a number of asset classes.

Why is volatility so low? There is more money looking for a home then you
can imagine, global debt issuance and money supply growth are on runaway trajectories.
Regardless of interest rate hikes around the globe, liquidity is sprinting
ahead. And the smart money people who hold these US dollars, euros, Chinese
Yuan, Aussie dollars etc., know one thing!!! There are boatloads of currencies
coming off the printing presses and the "fractional banking systems" right
behind them, and to hold paper is now a sucker's game. Don't hold paper currencies, own
assets, money can be borrowed cheap!! Borrow it, lock in the low rates,
and find anything that can hold its purchasing power, and hope for a little
return on top of it. "We" the citizens of the world are the suckers to the
politicians and central bankers who are trying to print their way to prosperity.
Now Lets look at the Dow 30 priced in paper dollars and Real Money i.e. GOLD!!
Provided by www.Elliotwave.com,

Which is the true picture?
They are stealing your money while it sits in your savings and bank accounts.
If you are in stocks you think you are making money, and it appears to be a
boom to the public. Is it? You decide. I can show you two charts of the housing
market that shows the same thing.
This has been something tried many times in history; it has always worked
for a while, in creating a boom, then turned around and bitten
the poor goofballs who attempted it. Turning into a mega bust after the
boom. Unfortunately for all of us is that these present goofballs are the
political leaders and central bankers of the G-8 industrialized countries
of the world. They are all on the same page, at the same time, God protect
us. Before this was only tried in small corners of the world, think of
the German Weimar republic, present day Zimbabwe (interest rates 600%,
inflation at 1200%), and Argentina's hyperinflation, those disasters where
isolated follies, now we are all doing in GLOBALLY and at the same time.
The reason asset prices are skyrocketing is simple, anyone who holds national
currencies in the developed world, and in many emerging markets cannot hold
their purchasing power as their governments and central banks are debasing
their local currencies at rates ranging from 9 to 50% per year. Add the power
of compounding and it is an obscene debasement of the savings and purchasing
power of the currencies their citizens hold their wealth in. Governments are
supposed to protect their citizens and economies; they are "Benedict Arnolds" destroying
the futures of their citizens.
The only way to hold onto your money is to buy something that can't be printed.
The smart money knows this and is acting accordingly. This asset inflation
is the classic example of the definition of inflation, buy something now, because
you know if you wait it will cost more tomorrow. It is why private equity money
can pay these enormous sums and not be afraid, as the wind is at their backs.
As long as they borrowed at a fixed rate, they can bet that the central bankers
and politicians will bail them out!!! By printing more money and issuing more
credit. And the investor/speculator will be rewarded for seeing the situation
accurately and CAPITALIZING on it. As the globe is past the point of no return,
they can't withdraw the liquidity or risk systemic financial system failure.
They can leverage something enormously, and know that 5 years from know they
will hold 50% equity in their purchase courtesy of the global money printing
presses; their assets will just reprice to reflect the inflated currency it
is denominated in. If the currency loses 50% of its purchasing power an asset
purchased at 5 billion dollars now will be 10 billion in 5 years, representing
100% return on paper. And of course the managers of these deals will reap a
good portion of this appreciation. It is why we hear record purchase prices
on everything from real estate, existing companies, and natural resources and
raw materials, just to name a few of the asset classes rocketing higher. These
things they are buying can't be printed, only repriced in devalued currencies.
When ever you see a liquidity crisis or catastrophe such as what's unfolding
in the US housing market, wait and buy. The Federal Reserve is invested
in seeing home prices stay even; they will not save individual investors. They
wish to save the broad middle class, not the speculators who bought the hype.
But lenders are a different story, the fed will let the small ones flounder,
but when the problems get close to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or a major bank.
Watch them move FAST.
Wait for the crack up from the inflating asset class as it gets ahead of itself,
and buy the dip. Gold, oil, grains, stocks, precious and industrial metals
are a cinch as an investment, as nobody that has any brains wants to hold paper.
As quickly as an asset declines more money comes off the sidelines to come
out of the bank and into something that can't be printed.
The biggest money in the world loves bonds, as traditionally they have been
the safest investments in the world for generations, not so anymore. They are
certificates of confiscation when the central banks of the world are debasing
their currencies as they are now. The bond market conundrum Greenspan spoke
about will become undone as these "INVESTORS" slowly have it dawn on them what
is transpiring, and head for the exits. An example is this is a 10 year bond
yielding 5%, at 5% a year compounded annually it takes 14.4 years to double
the money. If you look at the price of gold is has doubled since December 2002,
an 18% compounded annual loss of purchasing power. That 13% annually really
starts to bite after the first year as every year after that as the compounding
really kicks in. This money at some point will come off the sidelines EN MASSE
as it tries to hold its purchasing power. The only thing they will not want
to hold is worthless paper currencies.
There is no turning back, invest with this in mind as it is set to continue
till the it all ends in the inevitable Kondratieff winter (credit collapse).
When no matter how much liquidity is offered there is not a new taker, no "Greater
fool". And that could be many years in the future....
Iran drops another bombshell
Look for war!!! It doesn't matter what the Iranians have done, build Nuclear
reactors, and bombs. Foment terrorism, interfere in IRAQ, and deny the holocaust.
None of these things has pushed them into war with the United States. But now
they have crossed the line, they are demanding payment for oil and Natural
Gas in EUROS. This is the primary cause of our toppling Saddam Hussein, he
attempted this in 2000 and we can see where this lead and it might be their
waterloo as well. We shall see how foolish Bush and the congress are now. Unfortunately,
the US is in no position to proceed as they did at that time as George Bush,
the Congress and the Central bank are busily destroying the economy of the
United States with their own runaway money and credit creation. Look for other
countries to follow; as the camel has its nose under the tent. The politicians
in Washington will allow anything but this, as its upsets there ability to
print a worthless dollar and get something real for it like OIL... This will
escalate the conflict with IRAN in an exponential manner. And on the same note...
Euro emerging
It was widely reported that the Euro currency has now passed the US dollars
in terms of currency in circulation. And it has as central banks and investors
around the world edge for the door in their dollar holdings. Unfortunately
it is a game of ring around the rosy, when the music stops, "Watch out". As
the next currency they buy is doing the same thing the US is; Printing money
and credit. It is now a game of who is doing it the least!!!
Technical analysis of Gold and Stocks by: Garrett Jones

"I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like
a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle." -
Winston Churchill
SPECIAL ALERT
"We begin with a clean slate"
There is something refreshing about the first day of a New Year - for a brief
period of time, it feels like a clean slate where we have the opportunity to
begin anew and possibly right the wrongs of the year that just ended. Let's
all hold that thought and see if we can "will" some good things for 2007. It
would appear that the machine that runs our country can use all the help it
can get.
As bad as the news was on occasion last year, the market put in a good showing.
The following performance for the major indices is worth viewing:
Dow Jones Industrials |
+16.3% |
S&P 500 |
+13.6% |
NASDAQ Composite |
+ 9.5% |
NASDAQ 100 |
+ 6.7% |
Russell 2000 |
+16.9% |
The stock market did well in 2006. It was robust into the spring; had a sharp
decline into the summer and then came on strong the rest of the year. The blue
chips were the clear winners, for the most part, however, the Russell 2000
won the performance sweepstakes. 2006 was the best year for stocks since 2003,
when the market was recovering from a horrendous bear market.
Let's take a look at a chart of the Dow Jones Industrials through the end
of the year and see what we can determine. Charts plot price movements and
there are three basic things to be aware of with respect to price movements
that define a change in trend - if they occur in conjunction with one another.
The first is the break of a major trendline. The next variable is if the trend
stops making higher highs in an uptrend or lower lows in a downtrend. An example
of this would be in an uptrend when prices have a correction, but then fail
to makes new highs when they rally again. The opposite is true for a downtrend.
Generally, this is referred to as a test of the high or the low. A failure
of these 'tests' usually implies that the existing trend is in the process
of changing. The final element is when prices go below a previous short term
minor sell-off in an uptrend or above a previous short term minor rally high
in a downtrend.
It is important to be aware that either of the first two conditions usually
are evidence of a probable change in trend. The probability is increased when
two out of the three are in play. When three out of three of the conditions
are met, a change in trend is virtually always the result.

When looking at the Dow Jones Industrials, we see that the trend line was
definitely broken. However, the Industrials haven't stopped making higher highs
nor have they made a recent lower low. Therefore, we have to conclude that
the Industrials are fine until one or two of the other variables kicks in.
The S&P 500 has broken the trend line and has failed to make a new high,
but has not yet made a new low. The S&P 500 is one step closer than the
Dow Industrials to completing the 'magic 3', but the jury is still out. If
you look at the dashed blue line, one can make the argument that the uptrend
line has not even been broken, in which case only the failure to make a new
high is in place. In my estimation, the red line is the correct trend line,
but I wanted to point out the other line just to be fair.


The third chart is the NASDAQ Composite chart. At first glance, it appears
that only two of the requirements may be in place, but that is not really the
case. The 'double top' high is actually a bit higher than the first top, so
it does not qualify for a lower high. However, the recent top is a lower high
and that makes all three requirements legitimately in place. The trend line
was broken and a new low was made below a prior low. This is potentially meaningful
and means this market must be watched very closely. If a new high is made,
then we have to wait. If not, then we have a legitimate reversal in the NASDAQ
Composite. If that turns out to be the case, then we have to watch the S&P
500 and the Dow Jones Industrials very closely to see if they confirm.
The final chart to look at is my long term indicator chart which is clearly
still in a very strong buy signal. Note the red line is well above the yellow
line which signifies the strength the market has had. Also note that price
had broken out of the upper resistance channel to the upside. We have to be
aware of the large separation between the two lines and the extreme move from
the lower channel line to (and through) the upper channel line. This can imply
incredible strength or a very extended market that is in need of a correction.
Granted, the market has exceeded all Fibonacci retracement levels which implies
that it will reach the old highs. At the same time, this is the second longest
market in history without having as much as a 10% correction. So, we have the
basis for a very strong market in 2007 if the economy continues to improve,
but we are set up for a correction that is likely to begin very shortly.

Gold & Silver:
If you are looking for a very impressive market performer for 2006, you need
look no further than gold and silver. Gold was up 22.9% which is quite impressive
- silver essentially doubled the move in gold.
Gold |
+22.9% |
Silver |
+44.6% |
This is particularly impressive when you consider gold is in its fifth year
of bull market since its low in 2001. Silver's move is even more impressive
when you consider that silver almost quadrupled its price from its low in 2001.
Gold and silver are insurance against a falling dollar and insurance against
inflation. The U.S. financial system is weakening relative to the world's financial
systems. Massive amounts of dollars are consistently being injected into the
economy to keep things from collapsing. Obviously, if the housing market were
allowed to collapse, it would bring the economy down with it. We are a nation
of consumers and when you remove our sources of funds (mortgages on our real
estate [homes]), our spending addiction becomes a very serious problem. Let's
face it - addictions are addictions - the US spending addiction may appear
to be much different than a drug addict's addiction, but, in reality, it's
the same process. In fact, when the final outcome plays out, the spending addiction
may prove to be just as ugly as any other addiction.


In the upper gold chart, gold appears to be in a multi month coil pattern.
This implies that gold is having an internal power struggle and will likely
head in the direction of its ultimate breakout. The second gold chart is a
point and figure chart. This chart shows a more bullish alternative for the
near term. It shows that gold has already broken out of the pattern; pulled
back to test the breakout line; and is now ready to make an explosive move
to the upside. One way to determine which of these charts may be more accurate
is to see how gold is doing in terms of other major currencies. Gold is poised
to break out of its pattern in terms of euros (see chart below). These charts
will have to be watched very carefully for confirmation, but the bias appears
to be to the upside for gold. Gold is clearly undervalued - particularly in
terms of its ratio of gold to US dollars in circulation.

In closing, it appears that the stock market is close to having a reversal.
My cycle dates fall after the first week of January. This may correspond with
a move up in gold and silver, as well. Arguably, the dollar has fallen and
it is clear the Fed doesn't want to see the dollar drop out of sight, so this
market has to be monitored very closely. However, a breakout is a breakout
- so look for a signal first and then look for confirmation of that signal.
My very best wishes to all of you for a Happy Holiday Season and a Happy,
Healthy and Prosperous New Year!
All the best,

Garrett Jones
NOTE: THIS E-MAIL REPRESENTS THE VIEWS OF THE AUTHOR AND IS INTENDED
FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THERE IS RISK OF LOSS IN ALL TYPES OF TRADING.
PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS.
Thank you, Garret,
In Conclusion, Look at the enormous sums being spoken about in the financial
and mainstream press. They are inconceivably big. I saw a description of a
trillion dollars, I will try and bring it to you. When Clinton became president
in 1992 he wanted an economic stimulus package of 30 billion dollars and it
was voted down as TOO BIG!! Congressional earmarks have "averaged" 30 billion
dollars a year for the last 4 years for bridges to nowhere and other nonsense.
The unfunded obligations of the United States government have grown from 20
trillion dollars in 2000 to 47 trillion now, and these are conservative numbers.
This money and credit creation is set to continue ad infinitum, do you really
think they will withdraw the liquidity? It would cause a collapse of the Global
financial system. It is a good time to invest in wheelbarrows, as that is what
you will carry your money in very soon. Commodities and hard assets are good
investments, stocks too as they will just reprice, to adjust for the loss of
value in the underlying currency. You can bet on it!!!!
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