Not exact matches
To expect normal or above - average long - term returns
from current prices is to rely on the market bailing out the rich overvaluation of today with extreme
bubble valuations down the road.
This contrasts sharply with past
valuation / earnings divergences, such as during the Dot - Com
Bubble, when
valuations for technology stocks disconnected
from earnings and reality.
I've noted before that while the
bubble peak in 2000 was the most extreme level of
valuation in history on a capitalization - weighted basis, the recent speculative episode has actually exceeded that
bubble from the standpoint of speculation in individual stocks.
But unless one expects a reprise of that
bubble, or at least a reprise of the sort of enthusiasm we saw during the housing
bubble (when
valuations ascended high enough to drive 10 - year prospective returns below 3 % annually), the odds of sustained durable gains
from present levels are weak.
Positive cash flow into the
bubble asset class supports
valuations for a time, the cash flows driven by momentum, but eventually positive cash flows are overwhelmed by negative cash flow
from an overvalued asset class.
In order to understand the departure of that green line (actual 7 - year returns)
from the blue line (expected 7 - year returns), it is important to recognize the effect of
bubble valuations in the period since the mid-1990's.
In a whipsaw period like that which we have had
from 1998 to the present, it makes a lot of difference, because many investments during the
bubble era put fresh capital into the market at a time of high
valuations, with buybacks predominating as
valuations troughed.
History is replete with such self - reinforcing trends divorced
from valuations: the tulip craze in 1630s Holland, the South Sea
Bubble of 1720, railway manias of the mid-1800s, the roaring bull market of the 1920s, Nifty Fifty stocks in the 1960s, Japan's asset price bubble of the 1980s, and the late 1990s tech bubble, to name just
Bubble of 1720, railway manias of the mid-1800s, the roaring bull market of the 1920s, Nifty Fifty stocks in the 1960s, Japan's asset price
bubble of the 1980s, and the late 1990s tech bubble, to name just
bubble of the 1980s, and the late 1990s tech
bubble, to name just
bubble, to name just a few.
On the other hand, the stock
valuation patterns
from 2011 - 2016 are eerily reminiscent of what transpired (1994 - 1999) prior to the bursting of the tech
bubble.
The longer period includes a few high
valuation years
from the beginning of the
bubble.
the European periphery is a
bubble («The Euro crisis is not over... the European economies are not going to change for the better for years to come despite all the cheating and breaking of laws»), Value investors need to venture to Russia («when you look at today's opportunity set, you're left with a set of assets where nothing looks attractive
from a
valuation point of view») or buy gold mining stocks -LRB-» The down cycle could be much bigger than anybody believes if the market realizes that all the actions taken in recent years do not work.»)
But the
bubble went on for a long time, and for many, when it seemed like
valuations were as far detached
from reality as they possibly could become, they just continued becoming further detached.
In a sort of mirror image of the 1999 Dot - Com
bubble, when investors overpaid for high risk, non-yielding stocks, the market today is characterized by eye - popping
valuations for «safe» assets
from bonds of all types to the most conservative sectors of the stock market.
Richard Heinberg and several of his associates
from the Post Carbon Institute are one of the groups that is pushing the notion of a fossil fuel industry
valuation bubble, and another group is the UK - based Grantham Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, which put out a 40 - page scientific report on this very subject before Al Gore more recently touched on the same subject.
In fact there are multiple sources to choose
from that are all pointing to an oil & gas industry
valuation bubble due to the fact that large amounts of their yet to be recovered reserves may never be recovered as we move toward renewable energy.
Financial analysts are still having a hard time making sense of the technology and future predictions range
from six - digit
valuations to a complete crash, with some still being convinced that the currency is a
bubble waiting to burst.