Year-to-date the S&P 500 is down 5.9 percent. Over this same time, the NASDAQ is down over 10 percent.
Should you buy the dip? Should you sell the bounce?
The answers to these questions are dependent on whether you trust the stock market’s technical indicators or its fundamentals. Regardless, panic and uncertainty are spreading across America.
There’s the recognition that economic growth is retreating, consumer prices are rising, and jobs are disappearing. There’s also the observation that President Trump’s policies are making things worse.
Most people agree that the federal government is too big and too controlling. They are well aware that there’s rampant fraud and waste. They understand that $2 trillion annual deficits are not sustainable. And that the runaway growth of government debt is a complete disaster.
They also want these failings corrected without any trouble. On the day Trump took office, there was an unwarranted belief that he could magically clean up all the waste, reduce the size of government, and balance the budget without painful consequences. That perception is being shattered. Continue reading