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Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Any hope for 2012?

It looks like the stock market will be down another day and that makes it 9 in a row.  Housing prices continue to tumble in many areas of the Country.  We are 15 trillion dollars in debt as a Country (cough cough) Something tells me that number is artificial and could be higher than that.  Daily news talks about reduced benefits for social security and medicare in the future. Unemployment at 9% !!!  An article in the USA today discussed the delayed retirement plans of many due to home values dropping so far.  The .15% return on their savings account will probably not make up any short fall.  Is this stuff depressing or what? Any hope for 2012? As most serious investors know, the stock market is a forward thinking indicator.  The movement of the market reflects the outlook of where the economy will be 6 to 12 months ahead.  With that understanding, 2012 does not look real good at this point.  Will Bernanke save us?  Him cutting interest rates does not seem to be an option since they are at almost zero now.  The government has been extending unemployment benefits and sponsoring work projects which continues to add to the debt line. Any positives here?  Well, many people are now given the option to purchase a home that they were priced out of a few years ago.  New businesses are being started as people leave their previous career paths to explore new forms of income.  New cars can be purchased at very low interest rates. Private equity groups are buying companies at reduced valuations with the thought to increase their return in future years.  Some highly visible businesses were started in recessions like HP, Microsoft and Trader Joes.  Earnings for the S and P 500 will hit an all time high this year and possibly get to 100.00 per share.  Companies are holding record levels of cash.  Maybe they can loan some to the government?  Not sure that is a smart path since we already owe trillions.   We always work our way out of bad times.  The question is whether we can do it within 2012?  Does not look good at this point.  Many retailers will be holding their cash, delay filling open positions and grind their vendors for discounts. Enjoy the weekend, Steve LPDT, LLC offers the only E-Learning training for Retail Loss Prevention at www.LossPreventionAcademy.com. In addition,we offer a FREE job and resume posting board for Loss Prevention at www.LPjobsFREE.com. Check out our awareness posters for shortage and safety at www.LPPosters.com. You can follow us on Twitter under LPACADEMYcom and Facebook under Loss Prevention Academy. Posted by Steven M. Degener, J.D. at 9:34 AM 0 comments Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Google Buzz