United States

Last May, after the "harsh snowfall" of Q1 crushed US GDP (when it was really the bursting of China's shadow banking bubble) leading to sellside analysts first, and then the Bureau of Economic Analysis to decide the time has come to double seasonally GDP data to avoid such embarrassments as a negative print in the middle of a recovery, Bank of America's chief economist Ethan Harris rushed to declare victory.

Explicitly targeting the "perma-bears" this is what Harris said:

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter is a man who knows that actions speak far louder than words.

That’s why when Washington’s feud with China over the latter’s land reclamation efforts in the South China Sea reached a boiling point last year, Carter made a trip to the Pacific and had someone snap this picture of him riding in a helicopter with an aircraft carrier visible in the background.

• Stocks, oil soar as Draghi the dove tames global bears (Reuters)
• Massive snowstorm poised to wallop U.S. East Coast (Reuters)
• Oil Rises in Biggest Rally Since August Amid Volatility Surge (BBG)
• Nikkei spikes more than 900 points after rebounds overseas (Japan Times)
• China's Working-Age Population Sees Biggest-Ever Decline  (WSJ)
• Oil Is `Trade of the Year' for Citigroup After Iran Export Surge (BBG)
• U.S. Payment of $1.7 Billion to Iran Raises Questions of Ransom (WSJ)

In retrospect it appears Tom DeMark was spot on with his Wednesday prediction, made just as the Dow Jones was down some 500 points that that very day was "an interim low" to be followed by a 5-8% rebound (at which point the selling would resume). In fact, those trading Japanese stocks saw virtually the entire predicted rebound take place in just one day as the Nikkei soared by almost 6% overnight, or nearly 1000 points, the biggest jump in 4 months, while risk everywhere else around the globe has likewise exploded higher, as crude has stormed back over $31/barrel.

Submitted by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

Warning Signs Of A Recession

In late 2007, I was giving a presentation to a group of about 300 investors discussing the warning signs of an impending recessionary period in the economy. At that time, of course, it was near “blasphemy” to speak of such ills as there was “no recession in sight.”