Is The Market Poised To Crash? Is There A Catalyst? 8 Reasons Why The Stock Market Is At or Close To A Top And 8 Reasons The Market Might Crash

8 Reasons Why The Stock Market Is At or Close To A Top

from Michael Lombardi:
Where the Market Stands; Where It’s Headed:
My eight reasons why I believe the stock market is at or close to a top:
1. Corporate insiders are dumping stock.
2. Bullishness amongst stock advisors is at a multi-month high.
3. Companies are propping up earnings with record stock buyback programs.
4. Corporate earnings growth will be negative again in the first quarter of 2013.
5. The global economy is slowing. Certain countries in the eurozone are in a depression. The U.S. economy could be contracting.
6. The percentage of assets that mutual funds have invested in the stock market is near a multiyear high.
7. The underemployment rate (which is the unemployment rate taking into consideration people who have stopped looking for work and people who have part-time jobs but want full-time jobs) is over 14%—it really hasn’t changed much in months.
8. The American consumer is in trouble. Real disposable income is lower today than it was in 2008. The personal savings rate has fallen more than 70% since 1980. Average hourly earnings of production and non-supervisory employees have crashed 50% since 2008. (Source for all date in list: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.)
What do we really have? We have a stock market bubble created by the “too easy” money polices of the Federal Reserve—policies of multiyear artificially low interest rates and $2.5 trillion in newly created (printed) money.

8 reasons the market might crash

from Charley Blaine, MSN Money:
1. The Federal Reserve reverses course without warning

Odds of happening: Low
2. North Korea attacks

Odds of happening: Moderate, but who knows?
3. The Middle East erupts

Odds of happening: Moderate
4. Market trading systems fail to work properly

Odds of happening: Possibly low
5. The bond market revolts and balks at buying government debt

Odds of happening: Moderate

6. The eurozone falls apart

Odds of happening: Moderate
7. China’s economy implodes

Odds of happening: Low
8. Stocks crash because prices are just too high

Odds of happening: Moderate

IMF Trims US Growth Outlook in Draft Report

The International Monetary Fund lowered its forecast for U.S. growth as automatic budget cuts take hold, according to a draft of the Washington-based lender’s World Economic Outlook.
U.S. gross domestic product will expand 1.7 percent this year compared with a previously forecast 2 percent advance, according to the draft report obtained by Bloomberg News. The draft, which was presented to the IMF board last week, may be subject to revisions before its scheduled April 16 release.

The U.S.’s fiscal tightening that took effect last month will restrain consumption temporarily, the report said. The global economy will expand 3.4 percent this year, compared with 3.5 percent forecast in January, according to projections in the report. The 17-nation euro area will contract 0.2 percent, unchanged from January, with uncertainty stemming from Italy’s election adding to challenges facing policy makers fighting Europe’s debt crisis, it said.

Pento Likes Gold But Warns A Stock Market Crash Is Coming

is very bullish on gold, but warned of a coming global stock market crash and economic meltdown. Michael Pento, who heads Pento Portfolio Strategies, spoke candidly about the frightening situation the world faces in the very near future.

HYPOTHERMIA: CONTAGION IN THE EUROZONE

The contagion in the Eurozone is like hypothermia.  The peripheral countries of the Eurozone are frozen; frozen out of the capital markets, with little capital flow inside the country. They are shut down.
If these countries start accepting bail ins, in a strange way they are temporarily revived by fresh capital infusions from the ECB.  Their banking system that was formerly shut down restarts with a jolt of liquidity.  They start to show some signs of life even though they are moribund.
But what happens is the smart money starts fleeing from countries before the bail in proposal ink is dry.  The smart money; call it the warmed blood, the money that gets out of a country’s banking system before it starts crashing,  starts flowing towards the core. 
This is happening now.
…
Other Possible Catalyst:
Greek unemployment rises to 27.2%/Youth unemployment at 59%/Spanish house prices plummet by 9.7% y/y/ Italian debt to GDP projected to rise to 130.4/ Silver OI rises again to 166,621
Shock: Bloomberg Admits Models Don’t Work – Economics, Government Turned Upside Down?
Debt spiral could push Portugal into new bail-out, admits EU-IMF
FED DISCONNECTING WARNING GUAGES WON’T PREVENT ECONOMIC ENGINE FROM FAILING
Approaching A Tipping Point? Profits Just Hit Another All-Time High, Wages Just Hit Another All-Time Low