The major indexes briefly stumbled after the Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index in January slipped to its lowest level since the reading's inception in 1967. The report indicated that consumers, who have already cut back drastically, are likely to remain reluctant to spend in the coming months.
If you're like me, and you view share prices as something you pay for future earnings, then the market's recent moderate advances make no sense. Why pay higher prices for earnings when consumers have very little hope of contributing to those earnings with their spending? I'll hazard a guess that too many people are listening to analysts who are calling a market bottom.
Consumers are at their most pessimistic - ever.
Banks are at their most insolvent - ever.
I'm not going long this market - ever? Well, not forever, but certainly not now.
