Stocks could fall 80% from here

[Bill Bonner's Diary]( Stocks Could Fall 80% From Here By Bill Bonner, Chairman, Bonner & Partners [bill bonner] BALTIMORE – Like a “Closing Out Sale” that never seems to end, people are beginning to think that this “Stock Market Surge” may not be totally on the level. Unlike an honest bull market, it may never end… Recommended Link [Jeff Sessions Is Going to Make Marijuana Investors Rich]( Investors got spooked when Attorney General Jeff Sessions threatened to crack down on legal pot. But the marijuana train hasn’t left the station. [Go here to learn why]( -- Classic Top? But in many ways, it looks more and more like a classic top. Stocks keep going up… and more and more investors, getting in the mood, think they will go up forever. The last time we saw anything comparable was at the end of the 1990s. Then, it was the tech-heavy Nasdaq that had caught fire. It burned hot from 1995 to 2000, with prices up five times. But then, when there was no more furniture to throw onto the fire, it quickly went cold. The Nasdaq fell 80%; the ashes remained cold for the next 10 years. The flames were only rekindled after the Fed and other central banks added $15 trillion to the world’s supply of dry tinder. No Ordinary Market This was one of three incidents over a 20-year period that reshaped popular attitudes to money, investing, and the markets. First came the “Black Monday” crash of 1987. Then, there was the aforementioned collapse of the Nasdaq in 2000. Finally, the crisis of 2008–09 further drove home the point: This is no ordinary stock market. Until 1987, the best way to make money in the stock market was to do careful research and find good companies selling for less than they were worth. After 1987, the value of this kind of fundamental analysis fell. It didn’t matter anymore how much something was worth. The stock market was no longer functioning as a market for stocks, carefully discovering what each and every one was worth. Instead, it was reacting to something else. And by 2009, fundamental analysis was no longer helpful; it was, in fact, counterproductive. The more research you did – to identify value-rich companies – the worse your portfolio would do. This may seem impossible. But that is what happened. Value-rich companies with low price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios and little debt underperformed the go-go leaders of the growth genre. Recommended Link [Kansas farm boy generates millions from his California "bunker"]( He's just an ordinary guy born on a farm in Kansas. He didn't graduate from a fancy college. He doesn't have an MBA. Yet he stumbled upon a ["secret key" technique]( that allowed him to retire at 42… and still make more money in 8 hours… than most people make in a month. He calls it his retirement hobby. [Click here to see his “secret key” in action]( -- Mr. Luskin’s Math This phenomenon was inadvertently described in last Friday’s Wall Street Journal. Donald L. Luskin, a macroeconomic forecaster, wrote an enthusiastic editorial in which he argued that stocks may be high, but they are going much higher because “policy changes augur much better earnings in the coming years”: [A]s in 2009, the economy is facing a fundamental turning point driven by profound changes in economic policy. Once again, it’s policy, not valuations, that is determining stock prices. Mr. Luskin did the math. At a corporate tax rate of 35%, a dollar of corporate earnings turns into 65 cents after Washington takes its cut. At the new 21% rate, the same dollar becomes 79 cents. That’s earnings growth of 21.5%. If we were advising Mr. Luskin, we would suggest he put his calculator down and put on his thinking cap. Out of whose pocket cometh that extra 14 cents? You will say, “It comes from the tax cut.” But since the feds won’t forego a single penny in spending, we must assume they will get it from somewhere else, right? Where? Corporations, as proponents of the tax cut were quick to point out, do not pay taxes. They just collect them. The money either comes from their employees, their shareholders, and/or their customers. So if the shareholders and/or the employees get 14 cents more, it is almost a dead certainty that the customers will get 14 cents less. Then who will buy the corporations’ products and services? (Yes, we are aware of the Laffer Curve… and the theory that there is an ideal tax rate out there at which the feds maximize their income, often by lowering tax rates. But first, there is no evidence that it is true. Second, even if it were true, there’s no reason to think the new tax rate is any better than the last one. And third, it seems unlikely that further stimulus, at this point in the business cycle… after $10 trillion of Fed stimulus since 2009… will produce much of anything… except, maybe, more money for shareholders and corporate insiders!) Recommended Link [In February 2018, the Next Evolution of Bitcoin Is Going to Mint a New Class of Millionaires – But 99% of People Have No Idea What's About to Happen…]( [Click here for the full story]( -- Rock Star Central Bankers So yes… Mr. Luskin could be right… as far as his math and his logic take him. But transferring wealth to shareholders and bondholders is what the feds have been doing for the last 30 years, ever since former Fed chief Alan Greenspan invented the “Greenspan put.” By slashing interest rates and talking up the market, Mr. Greenspan guaranteed that stocks wouldn’t go down too much, or stay down too long. The Greenspan Era represented a fundamental and dramatic turnabout for the Fed. America’s central bank was meant to be – and had been – a mostly passive institution. Few people knew who the chairman of the Fed was; few cared. The Fed was not meant to guide the economy… and surely not to enhance it. Instead, it was supposed only to guard against excesses, as Fed chairman William McChesney Martin put it, by “taking away the punchbowl” when the party got too hot. But Mr. Greenspan was determined to be a rock star. Instead of taking the punchbowl away, he added more booze! Stocks went up for the next three decades… as more and more alcohol got dumped into the punch. And now, look around: The world has $233 trillion in debt. Interest rates are barely off the floor. And as much as $11 trillion of debt trades with negative yields. So when the current tightening cycle causes the next crash… the feds will panic, as usual. And, as usual – having learned the lesson over the last 30 years – investors will buy the dip, confident that the feds will come into the market with their cheap sauce. But this time, the bottles will be empty. More to come… Regards, [Signature] Bill Market Insight: Growth Trumps Value By Chris Lowe, Editor at Large, Bonner & Partners [Chris Lowe] Value-rich stocks are out of fashion in today’s market, too. Today’s chart looks at the 12-month performance of the Russell 1000 Value Index. And it tracks it against the performance of the Russell 1000 Growth Index over the same period. In other words, it tracks 1,000 value-rich U.S. stocks… relative to 1,000 “go-go” growth stocks. [Chart] As you can see, since this time last year, the index of growth stocks is up 34%. That’s more than double the performance of the value index, which is up 14%. – Chris Lowe FEATURED READS [Did Bitcoin Just Burst?]( As Chris Lowe [showed yesterday]( the world’s first cryptocurrency is falling hard. This morning, it continues to sink. Is this the end of the bitcoin bubble? [How Investors Should Prepare for a Government Shutdown]( Unless something is done, the U.S. government could shut down later this week. Here’s what to do when the lights go dark in Washington. [Chris Mayer: 2017 Won’t Repeat Itself]( 2017 was a record year for U.S. stocks. But Chris Mayer, one of Bill’s top analysts, says 2018 will be very different. Here’s how you can prepare. MAILBAG In the mailbag, Bill’s [Monday]( has gotten some readers thinking… I have been reading and enjoying your Diary for some time now, but have never commented before. However, I so enjoyed your “Sh*thole Theory.” Great points made – I both laughed and cried. Keep up the honesty regarding our sad political climate and so-sad POTUS. Thanks for my reading pleasure. – Michelle C. I believe that you, as usual, with your negative-anything-Trump attitude totally misunderstood the situation. If you actually believe that he said this, which several people are denying, Trump was not referring to the characteristics of individual people, but to their governments and the conditions of their existence. His guiding principle on immigration is to look at individuals and their potential contribution to America. It is not America’s job to rescue every person in the world from their own governments. – Douglas W. In case you missed the point, we don’t need more uneducated people with no skills who come here to get welfare. We have plenty of uneducated and lazy people that we cannot get to work. The Irish were quick to take hard work at low wages and earn a living. In the South, slaves were considered to be worth more than the Irish. That is why the Irish were hired to dig canals and drain the swamps, suffering malaria and yellow fever to make New Orleans what it is today. How well are the Somalis doing in Minnesota and Michigan? Many come here and go on welfare and food stamps. We do not need more leeches in this country. With over one million immigrants per year – between legal and illegal – we should call a recess for several years to absorb the ones who are here. We also need to deport the criminal element that has slipped in and give no quarter to new immigrants who turn to criminal activities. I think it would also be helpful to have a national language so we do not have to be forced to be bilingual. If they come here, they need to learn English. It seems that my experience has been that, when money is to be earned, they learn English rather quickly. I am done with my rant. – Carl Q. I found your “modest contribution” to the “Sh*thole Theory” to be exactly excellent. Pity that, even if he is able to read it, it is hardly likely The Donald would pick up on the subtle nuances! – Ambrose J. In anticipation of negative responses to your statement, “Would we want to have them as neighbors? Sure, why not? We could use a cheap gardener,” I thought I’d beat the rush in your defense. You are being blunt in order to make a point that a nice neighborhood with good people attracts everyone, including the wealthy. In this example, the employer thinks the job is a bargain at the price, and the employee thinks the employer is a generous and valuable source of good income (win-win). – Sandra K. American warmongers have created rather a lot of sh*tholes since World War II, courtesy of rather a lot of ordinance. I am not sure Larry Page’s mansion would fare much better under the same treatment. Most African officials who siphoned off 5% of government contracts invested their commissions in London property for their children. So plenty of highly educated Africans came to London, along with Ugandan entrepreneurs. Have you asked those left behind if they appreciated so much of their taxes going overseas? – Rhys J. Sounds like the folks from the “Sh*thole” countries can stay there or return. And prosper. You could return to live in Baltimore and leave your palace in the California hills before it burns down or is washed away. – Virgil B. It has been interesting watching the range of comments from the readership based on their particular confirmation bias. It seems you have no preference – you bash both sides of the political aisle with equal glee. Keep it up. Lately, the mailbag is approaching the level of entertainment and interest that I read the Diary with. – Pat I. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT… One day in 2000, master trader Jeff Clark nearly lost his entire life savings… The market had turned against him. But instead of panicking, [he did this instead.]( [Video]( [Bonner and Partners]( © Bonner & Partners 55 NE 5th Avenue, Suite 100, Delray Beach, FL 33483 [www.bonnerandpartners.com]( This e-mail was sent to {EMAIL} because you subscribed to this service. To stop receiving these emails, click [here](. Customer Service Bonner & Partners welcomes your feedback and questions. 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