US Stock Market -- Some Thoughts

Correction In Place
The SPX fell about 12% from its peak before recovering substantial ground later in the week.
Peak to trough so far, the SPX fell to a sharp and trade worthy oversold of 6.2% against the
25 day m/a earlier in the past week but has bounced to a moderate short term oversold of 3.2%.
It is an open question of how serious the correction is. The SPX has fallen below its 200 day m/a
and the 200 day has rolled over for the first time since 2011. Moreover, like the deep 2011 price
decline, both the RSI and MACD measures have been trending down for several months as lead-ins.
On the plus side, all the sharper down moves in the SPX since the 2011 correction have seen 'spike
low' patterns where recovery has been fairly rapid and where new highs were attained. SPX Daily

Room For Another And Perhaps Final Leg Up?
The cyclical bull is six years old, but there are capital resources -- idle capacity, labor, and credit
availability -- which remain untapped or underutilized and which are sufficient to carry economic
expansion into 2017 if exploited. Bull markets normally do not end until the economy is overheated.

But, to get this last up leg in the market, the economy must continue to transition to a credit driven
expansion which is far less reliant on continued growth of monetary liquidity. The failure of the
stock market to sustain the new highs in 2015, as modest as they were, means there are plenty of
second thoughts among investors concerning whether it is advisable to pay premium p/e ratios
for US stocks in an environment that may be more risky on a global basis (It could be argued that
risks are no higher than they were months ago, but that many players, smitten with the idea of
sustaining high valuations because inflation is so low, have taken off their blinders and have
broadened their focus).

As it stands now, I would be very reluctant to deny another up leg which carries the SPX to new
historic highs. On the face of it, such a continuation of the bull would seem to be modest in
potential. With accomodative monetary policy nearly global in scope now, and with China
especially set to push hard for faster economic growth, US stocks may get strong competition
from foreign markets, oil and other commodities. One offset could be if bondholders, seeing
that the Fed intends to raise short rates gradually but with persistence, elect to trim long dated
maturities and move some of these very large funds into equities.

China -- Stock Market Profile

To benchmark the China stock market, I use the S&P China SPDR (GXC) ETF based on the
S&P BMI China Index. The GXC holds over 600 stocks ranging from major cap. size to small.
The CXC has roughly $6.00 in net per share and trades around 11x eps. It is much less volatile
than the more notorious Shanghai Composite. GXC Daily 

Since its inception in early 2007 at a price of $50, earnings for the GXC have grown nearly 15%
per annum. Corporate profit growth in China has slowed down in the wake of the large 2009 -
2010 fiscal stimulus program and the p/e ratio for the GXC has naturally eroded. With China
struggling to meet its 7% per year growth target, the growth of earnings for the GXC in the
future will continue to be more moderate than in prior years. I would rate the stock as reasonably
priced at $65 (The stock is currently $69+).

The GXC caught the speculative fever for China stocks which began to ramp up around mid - 2014.
GXC shot up from the $70 area to close to $100 this year, but has retreated back to the $70 level
in the recent big China sell - off.

It is foolish to think China can become a broadly diverse, stable consumer led economy so soon
in its development. That has to be a long term objective to be worked at. In the meantime, to
stabilize growth, China has devalued the Yuan, is cutting interest rates and bank reserve requirements,
and is accelerating the growth of its basic money supply. The China economy is in deflation and
the PBOC is having to take stronger action to reverse economic growth deceleration. With more
monetary and fiscal support ahead, the GXC is probably fairly near to sold out.

The bottom panel shows the relative strength of the Shanghai to the  GXC. In my view the Shanghai
would probably be reasonably  priced against the GXC at a little below 40x or about 2700. Since
the Shanghai can be very flighty, the 2700 level has to be taken as a very approximate approximation.

Rome was not built in a day and neither will China be.

Stock Market -- Risky Business

I have been cautious on the stock market since the latter stages of the huge Fed QE program.
Historically, programs like this represent sustained emergency easing and they are very supportive
of investor and private sector confidence. There have been few of them, but when they terminate,
the absence of the strong tail wind they provide to the economy and the markets can susbstantially
diminish confidence. In the absence of large QE, the economy must transition to a credit driven
recovery / expansion and away from one that is liquidity driven, and so must a stock bull market if
it is to survive.

US economic growth has again slowed down over the past year, but consumer, business and banker
confidence has remained relatively solid. Profits have contracted  moderately on low sales volume
growth and pricing power and have taken a large hit from weaker oil and gas prices with lower
costs for net energy consumers only partially offsetting resource provider bottom line erosion.

The stock market had been using the idea that low inflation and interest rates reduce the equity
investment hurdle rate which should entitle investors to enjoy a higher p/e ratio on earnings. In
fact, the vast proportion of the advance in the in the stock market since the autumn of 2011
reflects the progressive rise of the p/e ratio.

My view on the stock market has been that primary and secondary fundamentals, while they have
eroded, are still positive, but that the termination of the powerful liquidity tailwind from QE 3
reduces positive return potential and raises risk.

I am not smart enough to explain exactly why the market has been so shaky since China cut its
dollar peg shortly back, but I suspect that without the big US liquidity tailwind, investor confidence
is more vulnerable to contrary economic developments. Even so, I have been surprised by the
powerful wave of selling.

The SPX is wildly oversold, and because the economy is muddling along positively, I must say
something I may very probably regret, but this kind of panicky action looks crazy, stupid to me.
SPX Daily

SPX -- Daily Chart

I have been cautious on the outlook for the stock market since  the roll up stage of QE 3 last
autumn and have argued this year that the bull market was on tenuous grounds from both
fundamental and technical perspectives. The key directional fundamentals in toto remain
positive but have been deteriorating up until recently when there has been slight improvement.
But, I cannot take any credit for the sudden, sharp selloff so far this week. Even though the SPX
is pricy and many solid observers are looking for a sharp price correction, the basic fundamental
framework for stocks has yet to turn negative. So, a tip of the hat to the other guys. SPX Daily

The SPX has entered a short term downtrend. 2015 price support has been has been taken out,
the 25 day m/a is rolling over and RSI and MACD, which have both been trending down, are
weak. The SPX is moderately oversold at a 2.8% discount to the 25 day m/a with RSI also
approaching an oversold position. So, it will prove instructive presently to see how much fire
power the bears are carrying since there is a moderate short term oversold condition in place.

SPX -- Weekly

Fundamentals & Valuation
Core fundamentals remain positive, but continue to erode. The slippage in the growth of monetary
liquidity continues but at a milder pace and there has been no liftoff yet in short rates. Secondary
fundamentals have slipped slightly but remain in plus territory. Shorter term leading economic
indicators, which turned up in Mar., are moderately positive on balance.

SPX  net per share is running at an annualized rate of $112 compared to $102 for mid - 2011. Thus,
most all of the large gains in the market since the autumn lows of 2011 reflect a sizable increase in
the p/e ratio. Players have slashed the market's discount or hurdle rate to reflect a sharp deceleration
of inflation and a continuation of the Fed's ZIRP just as they did beginning in the 1960's when the
inflation rate began to factor more prominently in market valuation measures (By this token, if
there is faster economic and profits growth ahead, gains in the SPX price level may be subdued if
inflation accelerates and investors elect to scale back the p/e of the market accordingly). The
prospect of faster inflation likely bothers few players now as with excess global production
capacity and slow demand growth, investors are more concerned about mild deflation tendencies.

Technical
The indicators with the weekly SPX chart show that momentum last hit a peak at the end of 2013.
The market has advanced since then, but momentum readings have persistently eroded and by
extension suggest the SPX will end up 2015 on the flat side. That is not a forecast, but it is where
we will end up without a substantial positive or negative change to investor psychology. SPX weekly

Afterthought
I have not abandoned the idea that global economic growth will strengthen as the year progresses.
If the global economy does improve, the Fed would likely abandon its ZIRP, commodities prices
would rise some, the dollar would weaken and the SPX could get competition from commodities,
PMs and selected foreign equities markets. Interestingly, China, which has been exporting
deflation for a good several years because of slowing growth and sizable idle capacity, has again
turned more sharply expansive with monetary policy and a change in Its currency value regimen
toward a weaker yuan.

Stock Market Sentiment

In measuring market sentiment, I prefer to watch the equities put / call ratio simply because
it reflects real money down on the table and not advisory opinion where many of those polled
may have no 'skin in the game'. $CPCE Dailyhttp://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=%24CPCE&p=D&yr=5&mn=0&dy=0&id=p62224920975

I use the put / call as an inverse indicator which becomes interesting at extreme levels. The current
chart shows a recent very sharp rise in the put / call ratio as players have become rapidly more
bearish on the outlook for stocks based on the 30 day m/a. I classify the stock market as oversold
when the 30 day p / c ratio rises above .70. This measure may obviously go higher particularly if
the market weakens in the short run, but note that a .70 plus has often signified that a positve
price reversal lies not too far ahead.

Stock Market

The Fed began to tighten policy last autumn with the close out of QE 3. Now, there is intense
speculation the Fed will begin the next step in the tightening process with an initial increase to
short rates as soon as its Sep. meeting. The Fed is promising that once it begins the process of
raising rates, It will do so in a gradual fashion. Since all players know It is likely to raise rates a
couple of times at the least, investors are assessing how even a gradual and gentle process will
affect not just the economy but their rate of return assumptions as well. So, there are questions,
and when there are, it is normal to expect some trepidation in the market until one can get a
fuller sense of how the Fed is planning to proceed with the process. The market has been on the
flat side this year with intermittent quiet bouts of profit taking along with short and rather shallow
rallies. The market has been discounting the event of a change to a further tightening of policy
and I sure do not know whether the discounting process is just winding up or whether it will
proceed further until the event is at last upon us. Assurances from the Fed that short rates are
likely to remain low for a good while may have a countering force in the elevated p/e ratio
which has given little ground since earlier in the year.


Daily SPX

Commodities Market

Statistically, the CRB Commodities Index is dirt cheap on an historical basis. The index is now
just slightly north of 200. Since the early 1970s, 180 - 200 on the index has marked the bottoms
on the chart. Years back, I developed a macro model to figure out an equilibrium price where
supply and demand for commodities are in reasonable balance and where  the price includes
enough  profit margin sufficient to encourage future supply to grow along with demand. Here in
2015 the fair value price is running around 350 on the index. $CRB Chart

the CRB is trading at a large discount to fair value. This suggests a goodly number of raw
commodities producers are now running in the red and can only be cash flow positive if
there are sizable depreciation and depletion allowances and / or paid - in subsidies to keep
people employed (a not uncommon practice in foreign economies). Big discounts to fair
value in the commodities markets usually occur during recession periods such as in late 2001
and 2008 - 09. Now, we have a different situation. Global demand is growing at about half
the rate it needs to grow to allow depressed operating rates to rise enough to equilibrate the
markets. The 2002 - 2008 boom in commodities prices brought along with it a large cycle of
commodities capacity expansion. Moreover, with global monetary policy accomodative
since 2009, producers have been reluctant to shut - in capacity. The problem of excess capacity
relative to demand has been clearly apparent since early 2012. On top of too much capacity in
the business, we have to add the unwinding of long positions built up in commodities by both
financial players and speculators. Long futures positions in the markets often reached 3 times
what they were at the beginning of the last boom in 2002.

Viewed over the last 40 odd years, the CRB index is sold out and in distress given rising
operating costs and notwithstanding large productivity gains. The timing of price recovery
for commodities, as cheap as they are, is hard to figure. More of the marginal producers
and more of the diehard speculators may have to be stripped out of the equation. The low
global demand growth has yet to show much acceleration and a strong US $ is also a drag
on the market. Thus, a decline in the CRB index down to the 180 level cannot be ruled before
there is improvement.

Commodities are on my watch list and I may try long positions in the DBC commodities
tracking ETF (bottom panel of chart above) when it looks like a short run uptrend may be
developing.

Oil Price

Oil is about to move into a seasonally strong period which normally lasts through the end of
Sep. - beginning of Oct. Such periods can be exciting but do not normally top the Mar. - Apr.
interval for lift off power. The onset of a seasonally strong period does not look like a happy
moment on the chart. WTIC Weekly

The oil price held up very well through the normally weak late spring - early summer period,
but has broken down sharply since. The Iran nuke deal has been a negative, as has a bit of
firming in the US rig count, fresh debate over the prospective size of the of excess capacity at
the wellhead, and a general decline in commodities. The bear market in oil was re-affirmed
when the price recently failed to break above  its 40 wk. m/a. An oversold condition is
developing with important shorter term support at $45 WTIC.

I had been guessing back in the spring that oil could, after the oncoming bout of seasonal weak-
ness, rise to $70 bl. in the early autumn of this year, but that now looks like quite a stretch and
would likely require not yet apparent extra factors to come into play beyond the seasonal lift.

SPX -- Weekly

Technical
The SPX bounced nicely last week to close very slightly below its all time high. Moreover, it
remained clear of the 40 wk. m/a on the plus side. SPX Weekly

The cyclical bull market has grown more tenuous, however. The SPX is no longer following a
clear uptrend line and has steadily lost momentum. It has been making new highs, but they
have been so minor that the market has basically been adrift. Moreover, the breadth of the market,
measured by the percentage of stocks in clear positive momentum price patterns, is sharply
lower than at the start of the year.

The SPX is not not materially overbought against its 40 wk. m/a and has not been so for months.
the 40 wk is also still progressing higher, although it is starting to flatten out compared to the
prior year.

In all, the chart is unimpressive but is not yet near negative, and on the old saw that one should
never sell a dull market, players have just been going along with it even though the SPX has
been drifting.

Fundamental
On balance, the fundamentals are positive, but the situation on this score is tenuous as well.
Broadly, resources are in place to support continuation of real progress in the economy through
2016 in my view, but the progress we are witnessing is quite modest. Measured yr/ yr my
coincident economic indicator has declined from a healthy 3% at the outset of 2015 to an
anemic  1.6% through June. My monthly and weekly leading economic indicators signal a pick up
in growth for  Half 2 '15, but the readings are, shall we say, unprepossessing. SPX net per share
continues to trail the prior year, with weakness in the energy sector more than offsetting gains
elsewhere. Even excluding oil and gas, pricing power is modest, and many companies are
experiencing lower productivity growth since business is now geared for faster volume gains
which have yet to materialize.

There is an investor patience factor at work here as well. The market p/e ratio is elevated.
But with cash yielding near zero and bond market yields drifting higher, many players appear
reconciled for now to hold  equities portfolios to pick up the 2.1% yield and to play the
share buyback and merger lotteries as well as chase positive earnings surprise (viz. Netflix
and Google shares).









 

Gold Price

The gold price appeared to have a broken a down trend running back to 2012 earlier this year.
The Jan. rally was better than I expected, but it was unable to hold.  Gold Price Daily

As the year has progressed, gold has been unable to rally from $1200 oz. support as it did
at the outset of 2015, and support at $1200 has recently turned into resistance. I reckon that
at around $1145, gold is now trading a little below the all-in cost of production for a fair
portion of the mining group with any number of mines now cash flow positive only because
of depreciation / depletion considerations. The gold price is now mildly oversold and a minor
bounce may be in the cards.

Global industrial output has been growing only at around 2% in recent years and this has
not been fast enough to put any real substantial upward pressure on factory operating rates.
Consequently, global inflation pressure has trended down to modest levels. Moreover, the
recent blowout of the oil price reflecting a supply glut has been a sore spot for gold players,
since in modern times, strong run-ups in the price of oil have tended to be a very substantial
factor in leading periods of accelerating inflation.

I have been looking for faster economic growth over the second half of 2015 and have thought
this might trigger some positive price action in the gold market. However, global liquidity
growth going into Half 2 '15 has continued restrained especially in the US and China, and the
economic benefits to both countries have been more muted so far than I expected. Thus, for the
present, global output continues to grow but not yet fast enough to signal that capacity
utilization is about to swing higher on a cyclical basis.

The gold price is volatile enough that you do not have to catch the bottom tick to make good
money on the long side. Faster industrial output growth should trigger a decent gold rally, but
you have to hover over the output data as it comes in because the liquidity support for the
global economy is restrained enough that you cannot be sure yet whether the pop in global
output will come soon.

Iran & Nukes

It is high time the US wraps up the talks with the Iran on the latter's nuclear development program.
Iran gets the lion's share of media attention in the propaganda wars with all the "Death to America"
talk. What is less well known is the existence of deep set contempt for Iran here. So, if the
US closes out the talks with Iran without an agreement, there may be some nasty politicizing
here, but it will pass soon enough. Obama has only 18 months left to his term, and in my opinon
he can better spend that time on other matters if the US does not get the strong deal it needs
from Iran right quick. I bring this matter up because I think the political goodwill that has allowed
these talks to continue under the radar for many months is about to run out, thus creating some
concession pressure in Iran's favor that will be received very poorly in the US and could damage
Obama's standing if goodies to Iran creep into an agreement.

With an agreement on the Iran nuclear program and an early end to sanctions, it is estimated
that Iran could ramp up oil production to 1 million bd within one year after the sanction
covering oil is lifted. In a world with excess oil supply at present, that is worth noting as such a
development may not be fully discounted in the market. If there is no deal, Lord knows
what will happen to Iranian output as it is very difficult to say what the standing of the
sanctions program will look like given the number of parties represented at the talks as well
as those hovering close on the sidelines.

SPX

Fundamentals
My primary fundamentals are all trending negative, save for short term interest rates. On the
wise premise that you should not signal "buy" or "sell" until the indicators say so, the "easy
money" buy signal, as frayed as it is, still does not signal it is time to significantly reduce
equity exposure. Though there is no "sell" in place, market risk is elevated because history
shows the SPX does not perform well during periods following the the termination of very
large bouts of quantitative easing such as occurred this past autumn.

My secondary indicators are, on balance, positive. For openers, there is excess liquidity in the
system relative to the current needs of the real economy, which now features modest real growth
and minimal inflation. As well, there is a steep positive slope to the yield curve (30 yr Treas. % -
3mo. Bill Yield). This shows no real pressure on the economy from the Fed. In like manner,
short term rates are way below my measure of economic momentum measured yr/yr. Too, my
business profits leading indicators have turned modestly positve in recent months. Finally, the
price of oil is not in a rapid uptrend, which can destabilize the economy.

More broadly, there is still slack in the US economy and no danger of immediate overheating.
In my mind, that leaves the odds favorable for a another cyclical up leg for this market, with
timing of origination far from clear as the market may have to get past increases to short rates
first.

Technical
The momentum of the SPX since last autumn when QE 3 ended has fizzled out.  SPX Daily
The SPX has actually entered a short term corrective phase and is mildly oversold against its
25 day m/a. As well, it is sitting on its 200 day m/a which itself is flattening. The key short run
RSI and MACD indicators are also down trending, and the VIX volatility (fear) index is
approaching a short term oversold. There is not a classical sharp short term oversold in place
now, but the market is approaching it. The SPX has drifted off the uptrend lines in place
dating back to late 2011, and is now still nearly 3% above linear support at 2000. Not Quite
out of the woods yet.

Sweet Jesus : Greece And China

Greece
The ECB, as lender of last resort, opted today to continue its emergency liquidity assistance to
to the beleagured Hellenic Republic to support minimal commerce. With a "no" vote on pro -
austerity bailout programs from the 'Troika' by Greek citizens, The Greek PM deftly outflanked
Teutonic rectitude and forced the EZ players to either blow off Greece and put the country much
further along toward formal default on its $540 billion debt or to sit down with Greek negotiators
to hammer out a new deal which would swap some level of debt forgiveness for additional
austerity. The Greek people are strongly behind the Tsiparis regime, and major non- euro
power centers will not take kindly to seeing the disintegration of Greek society. If Mrs. Merkel
and the eurocrats in Brussels cannot conjure up a marketable story that Greece is truly a unique
case in desperate need of loan forgiveness and beneficence, they are truly worthless as politicians.
Merkel is inviting a veritable shit storm of criticism from both official sources and social media
if  she cuts Greece loose in its time of need. If the European Union wishes to dump Greece
forthwith, load the Greek wagon with debt forgiveness and sufficient liquidity to help them have
a fighting chance to begin to restore their economy. Germany has a chance to create a decent 'final
solution' this time out.

China
Party officials are in panic mode to prop up the Shanghai as it crashes. I have no idea whether
they will succeed, but since so many retail investors have been sucked in by the recent run -
up in the market, they must be concerned that social unrest could be out ahead and that what's
left of the more conservative old guard could drum up support for a counterstrike against
leadership that is seen as moving too quickly to alter the economic order.

My view for months has been the Shanghai should trade around 2800, and it is quite something
to my tired eyes to see the Gov. in there trying to hold the market up at such an overpriced level.
Daily Shanghai  (Note, however, that a short term oversold has developed).

SPX -- Monthly

The argument here since last autumn has been that the end of the huge Fed QE 3 tailwind to
the economy  and the stock market would involve  penalties for both. So far, resulting economic
and market difficulties have not been major. The US economy slowed down as expected, and
deceleration of progress was made worse by severe winter weather and labor difficulty work
stoppages. With the Fed having frozen its balance sheet, financial system monetary liquidity  
growth is slowing markedly,  and the economy is becoming far more reliant on internally
generated cash flows and private sector credit growth to fund further progress. Transitions of
this sort have occurred frequently and successfully throughout US history but they can be very
difficult during those times when the economy and confidence have been heavily dependent on
large liquidity support. In turn, the SPX has lost its positive momentum and is trading on a par
with its highs seen last Nov.

My weekly leading economic indicators have recovered and suggest a mild rebound for the
economy during the second half of 2015. When measured yr/yr, business sales and earnings
should also improve modestly. As for the stock market, my "easy money buy signal", in
force since very early 2009, will likely end late in 2015 if the Fed starts to raise short term
rates as is now widely expected.

Speaking as a funds manager and not a retiree, when the "easy money buy" comes to an end,
it would be time for me to acknowledge increased cyclical fundamental risk and reduce exposure
to stocks.

No buy signal does not imply a market top but it does say to me that it is time to
activate strategy and tactics to reduce exposure to stocks because the secondary indicators I
use during these periods are far less reliable than the primary ones and because fundamental
risk will likely rise further. I should note that a goodly number of fund managers would not
agree with this approach, finding it too conservative.

I have added a link for the SPX Monthly Chart. It shows the SPX to be down on its 10 month
m/a, RSI and price momentum in downtrends, and most disquieting, a roll over to the down-
side for MACD. It may be too early to consider that roll - down in MACD a kiss of death.
The reason is that  the economic expansion does not yet exhibit the maturity in terms of
resource and capital utilization that would prompt such a perspective.

More On China Stocks -- Shanghai

First up, let's look at the monthly Shanghai for the longer run dating back to the mid - 1990s.
Shanghai Composite

In 1995, the Shanghai was in the area of 700. If you figure a 10% annual compound return, that
works out to about 4700 currently, which is just where the Shanghai is sitting. The issue here is that
China is no longer logging 10% growth and is struggling to achieve 7% annual growth. With a
forward look, the base at 4700 is too high for an economy with a pronounced decelerating growth
trend. The index has a large component of pure speculative interest.

Note also that the monthly RSI shows an overbought reading nearly right up there with the
bubble top of 2007. Now since China's book profits have grown significantly since then, the
p/e ratio on the market is considerably lower now than back during the bubble top, but even
so, this is not a cheap market as it was in mid - 2014 at the 2000 level. Note also that the very
high RSI readings up near 80 or above since the mid - '90s have served as good warning lights.

Now comes the weekly chart for the Shanghai. $SSEC The top panel of the chart compares the
Shanghai with the S&P SPDR index ETF for China. There is not a long history here, but the
$SSEC has tended to top out in relative strength against the GXC in the 50 - 55 area (the last
time was 2007).

China has a long history of domestic turmoil and is the graveyard of prognosticators. Apropos,
the US State Dep't and the CIA keep their fingers crossed for stability and hope for the best.
Now, with Mr. Xi trying to shift gears on economic and financial policy, China is going into one
of those times when its "social contract" -- its citizens tolerate  the the Party in exchange for
continuing prosperity -- may be tested for one of the few times in the past 35 years.

China Stock Market

I made a nice call on China stocks in Jun. 2014. The key premise was that a slowing economy
would lead the PBOC to ease monetary policy and re-liquify the system. I believe that longer
term, the Chinese have preferred to invest and speculate in real estate, and that the destruction
of the China stock bubble going into the 2008 - 2009 global recession only served to reinforce
the preference for real property. The weakness in the residential real estate market over the
past year was partly a result of tougher policy by official China in the real estate area, so when
China began to ease monetary policy in late 2014 and encourage equity investment, the change
in policies left real estate to languish and invited speculative spirits back into equities. This
was a pleasant surprise for the equity market since monetary policy has not been strongly
accomodative at all by China standards. So, net - net, mild easing plus changes in official policy
has lead to a windfall for stock players. GXC (With The Shanghai in the top panel).

It is interesting that the PBOC's change to ease has been moderate and controlled, for it is
likely not strong enough to trigger heavy speculative lending to business and real estate as
seen in the past. In this regard, since the new easier money policy has been slow to roll out,
improvement in China economic performance has been deferred until Half 2, 2015.

Over the years I have mentioned  that when The Shanghai is strong, the action can get wild
and undisciplined. The chart above, which features the S&P ETF of a broad index of investment
grade equities (GXC), looks tame in performance compared to the wild and wooly Shanghai
shown in the top panel of the chart. With the GXC there has been a  major tradeoff of volatility for
positive return against the Shanghai in a strongly positve market environment.

The GXC has been in bull mode since late 2011 and its pattern more resembles the SPX than the
Shanghai. The recent jump in price to $100 for the GXC brought it closer to its all - time high
of 113 set in the bubble high of late 2007. The stock has been correcting, but it remains mildly
extended and overbought. Earnings have progressed over the last seven years, so the stock is
much cheaper than it was at the peak in 2007.

It is good that China has embarked on controlled money and credit easing, and that from a
policy point of view, it is trying to encourage a larger, more liquid equities market. China has
also curbed its mercantilist impulse and seeks to diversify its economy away from excessive
emphasis on industrial development. I am hopeful that with slower growth the populace
can adjust its expectations calmly and will not require the authorities in Beijing to sop up
anger with nationalism and a round of regional imperialism.

SPX -- Daily

It was mentioned in a 6/10 post on the SPX that since the market held the shorter term shelf
of support at 2080, it might be worthwhile to see how it performed given widespread bearish
sentiment on both technical and fundamental grounds. The SPX has rallied enough off of
2080 support to turn the 25 day m/a positive, so it continues to require added attention given
the surprise move relative to sentiment. SPX

Key indicators of SPX behavior continue to show decelerating price momentum and recent
rallies that have tended to sputter out in mildly fitful fashion. Many strategists and other close
observers believe it is high time for a healthy correction. May be so, but it is also clear that
there exists a steadfast cadre of players who argue that the economy is progressing, that
weakness in SPX net per share is but temporary, and that a premium p/e ratio is well warranted
given prospects for a continuation of an extended period of low inflation and interest rates.
Newer players to the game may not be aware of the sway that this thesis of support for higher
and rising p/e ratios held in the market of the 1960s and very early 1970s. The view is often
encapsulated by the "Rule of 20", which claims that SPX p/e = 20 - the 12 month inflation
rate. With inflation very low and interests rates non - threatening, players who support this
idea see the market as reasonably priced.

I have issues with the "Rule of 20". Mostly, I am concerned that the rule should be based on
a longer view of inflation potential where there is considerably more room for debate than with
short run inflation measures.

Just know now that the "Rule of 20" is in vogue currently and has yet to be defeated by the
facts on the ground.

US Monetary Policy

Short Term Interest Rates
The classical cyclical economic case for raising short rates has weakened since latter 2014
with a more sluggish economy and awaits a return to stronger economic growth. Market rates
at the very short end of the curve are near record lows and support the Fed's ZIRP. With the
economy in its sixth year of recovery, capital slack in the system has been greatly reduced,
but there are presently no compelling imbalances in  resource utilization. The Fed has time
to watch for an improved economy before taking action.

Fed Generated Liquidity
The tapering and close out processes for QE 3 have adversely affected economic growth
and stock market progress in 2015. Since the Fed has not acknowledged these developments,
it is hard to say how aware policymakers are of the connection. I suspect it has been discussed
within the Fed and has made a few members of the FOMC more cautious about raising rates.

 The Fed has let over $35 bil. of assets run off Its books in recent months. This may have
bothered Treasury and stock market players some, and the Fed may allow some further modest
run - off. However, since seasonal system liquidity needs will firm up after the summer, it
may well be that the Fed will add back as much as $50 bil. to its book by this autumn. If so,
the markets may like that.

SPX -- Daily

The SPX rallied sharply today off 2080 shorter term resistance. Since so many players have
recently been looking for a price correction of substance, it might be wise to see how this
bounce plays out over the next few days. SPX

The key to extending the pop in the SPX is whether the market can break above the 25 day
m/a followed by enough forward power to turn the "25" higher. Such action would no doubt
change a few minds among the consensus that the market should erode further to test
support at the Mar. low of SPX 2040.

Note however, that the rallies so far this year have been losing momentum.