Business

There is no end to the list of 'real world' problems underlying cuirrent equity market price levels and velocities (slumping 'hard' economic data, record high valuations, global thermonuclear war, Washington uncertainty, Fed balance sheet normalization to name a few). However, as former fund manager Richard Breslow points out, "equities continue to have friends in high places." In other words, there's a lot more to fight than just 'The Fed'.

Via Bloomberg,

Authored by John Mauldin via MauldinEconomics.com,

Stock valuations are the discounted values of future earnings. Future earnings depend on future revenue, which may diminish whenever the future includes a recession. So, broad economic conditions are a big factor to watch in stock valuation.

Broad economic conditions depend ultimately on the consumer’s ability and willingness to spend money. And July’s retail sales report gave us a peek at that.

Authored by Irina Slav via OilPrice.com,

U.S. shale has taken a lot of headline space recently as the biggest headwind for oil prices and the highest stumbling block for OPEC’s efforts to prop them up by cutting production. Yet, there may be another factor that could bring down oil prices as soon as next year...

China.

Authored by Steven Vanelli via Knowledge Leaders Capital blog,

On a relative basis, compared to the developed world, North American stocks peaked on November 23, 2016, and have since underperformed by about 4% (in USD).

Authored by Zainab Calcuttawala via OilPrice.com,

It has been two months since Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s ascendance to the role of heir to the Saudi Arabian throne, and the preliminary effects of his aggressive economic diversification and anti-Iran platforms are beginning to show.