With all the bad news that has been dumped upon the economy for some reason the stock market is going up. Why?
The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) has just set up new guidelines for core earnings. No more proforma computations. You know what proforma means - the company CEO or Treasurer waves his magic wand and says this is what I expect to appear as soon as I let the genii out of the bottle. And pigs can fly. These imaginary numbers may give his company a Price/Earnings ration of 20 which is pretty good by today's standards.
Now those mean guys in Washington have said you must reevaluate your earnings but this time figure in your stock options, pension costs and any restructuring charges. Holy Cow, that makes the P/E ratio 37. And that ain't no bargain when you are buying stock. The 100 year average has run about a 14 P/E. If the company has not been paying any dividends then this is a stock that must be suspect for any long term holding.
Because of these new guidelines the entire S&P Index P/E has gone from a 33 to 49. That is much better than it was in January 2002 when it reached 69. This number makes the entire market overvalued and still leaves me with the question of how can the market advance using these high P/Es?
There are a couple of answers and neither may be the right one.
The market has become severely oversold. The bear people have been riding it down until the news media finally recognized we have a long-term bear market. There have become too many traders who think there is no bottom and are willing to sell anything and everything. Enter the trading bargain hunters. It will now be the bears turn to be punished.
It takes money to put the market up. Where is that coming from? Our white knight, Sir Greenspan, has come in with his bags of money this past week. Look past our borders and you will see stock exchanges in every major country in the world that look sicker than ours. Foreign investors want a new home for their money and it seems the U.S. market looks darn good. As that money has started buying you may begin to see pension plan and mutual fund managers coming into the market.
The talking heads on TV and radio will give many other reasons that can be fueling the market advance and they may also be correct. Our market may be overvalued as we see it, but to others it looks like a bargain. Money is always looking for the greatest return and with wire transfers billions of dollars can and does move in a matter of hours. Oversold to the foreign market traders means underbought. It seems they have put on their buying clothes and want a piece of the action as our market is headed up - at least for a while.
(c) 2005
Al Thomas' best selling book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter to receive his market letter for 3 months at www.mutualfundmagic.com to discover why he's the man that Wall Street does not want you to know.
custom home cleaning Wilmette ..When you invest in the stock market for ever-increasing cash... Read More
"Buy and hold" is one of the most heralded investment... Read More
Ever have one of those sample boxes of candy? Each... Read More
With an insecure job market, overworked employees, insufficient retirement savings... Read More
Because there are so many stocks that are NOT paying... Read More
One of the basic laws of physics states that a... Read More
In my opinion, due to the volatility of stock market... Read More
I have been trading for several decades and was an... Read More
You probably have been told that options are risky. Even... Read More
If you haven't heard of the technical indicator with the... Read More
Every year I go to the Money Show in Orlando,... Read More
It is difficult to make money in a bull market,... Read More
Let's say you are interested in this one company. You... Read More
When purchasing mutual funds we are cautioned to read the... Read More
People are always asking me when should I sell my... Read More
We have two candidates for president that have really different... Read More
In one of my previous articles (Investing in the stock... Read More
The single most expensive stock market trades are those made... Read More
Mutual fund investing is a lot like Thai cooking. Everyone... Read More
Why? Because I am going to shatter your conventional wisdom... Read More
Just about everything you have been told about Social Security... Read More
In a previously written article, we expanded the use of... Read More
What is leverage?Here is a definition of leverage from an... Read More
Sometime in the third quarter of 1997, someone told me... Read More
When an individual investor wants to roll up his sleeves... Read More
same day cleaning service Morton Grove ..The big bad bear is stirring again. So far he... Read More
Should the market turn against you, it is important that... Read More
It looks like we have now entered a new bull... Read More
As I have said many times before in this column... Read More
Every broker and financial planner will tell you that you... Read More
Three little pigs went to the market to stock up... Read More
I don't know what kind it is, but I saw... Read More
Inverted interest rates? What's that? Who cares? Even if you... Read More
It seems that every day I turn on the TV... Read More
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are a group of passive index... Read More
What can I expect to make my first year of... Read More
If you don't know what a Roth IRA is then... Read More
Stock trading can be a very profitable activity. You can... Read More
Intervention. Now don't let that big word scare you. The... Read More
We keep hearing about this bear market and that the... Read More
I am hearing predictions by brokers, financial planners, talk show... Read More
Right now there doesn't seem to be any "gold fever".... Read More
The higher the market goes the more confusing are the... Read More
As the man said, "I've got some good news and... Read More
Refuse is a serious issue in any society, about as... Read More
Stocks breakout from properly formed bases everyday but many investors... Read More
One of the basic laws of physics states that a... Read More
How often have you come across an advertisement or e-mail... Read More
If you want one.And I don't recommend any broker with... Read More
Mutual funds were moderately successful in creating a presence in... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |