Coronavirus excuse masks nascent bear market – Ep. 530

“So goes January, so goes the year.” If the old adage is true, this could mean the longest bull market in history is coming to an end. And from a political perspective, it couldn’t come at a worse time. Another adage in investing is “buy the rumor sell the fact.” I mentioned in a recent podcast that investors would soon be selling the facts behind Trump’s trade deal. Well, it didn’t take very long for the markets to find a reason to sell. The markets were clobbered today and contrary to what the media says, the coronavirus is not the reason. It’s just an excuse and if they didn’t have the coronavirus, they’d find something else to blame. A lot of the stocks going down are retailers and have nothing to do with coronavirus. If the coronavirus passes and this slump in the market doesn’t, reasons for optimism will start fade fast. 2019 numbers show only 2.3% GDP growth. Could 3 rate cuts and a return to QE possibly be the reason? Joe Biden gave Bernie Sanders a bone by claiming he’s not a real Democrat. Voters are sick of party insiders and this will backfire on Biden the way it did on the Republican candidates when they accused Trump of not being a real Republican. Nobody would invent keto ice cream in a Socialist economy. Gold stocks continue to be undervalued. This is a gift horse and you don’t want to look it in the mouth. Gold is up again. If gold is this strong with the headwind of a strengthening dollar, just imagine the strength it will have with the tailwind of a falling dollar.