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BEST OF DOUG NOLAND
February 6, 2007
As we now proceed to a much more problematic phase of a runaway
global boom, analysts and market operators are being forced to begin
reexamining previous assumptions. Instead of the placid inflation and
interest rate environment anticipated by the consensus, there is this
highly inflationary global Credit and liquidity backdrop requiring
higher market yields and tighter Financial Conditions than would have
otherwise been the case. Or, stated differently, the Structural Increase
in Global Credit Availability and Marketplace Liquidity will necessitate
tighter-than-anticipated monetary policies by global central bankers -
in particular the Federal Reserve.
Until some development impedes the global Credit boom, monetary
policy will be dictated more by the need to lean against loose Credit
Conditions and Global Liquidity than any by any measure or index of
consumer prices. How ironic that this circumstance revealed itself as
the leading proponent of "inflation targeting" was assuming the helm of
the Federal Reserve System.
The increasing awareness by holders of inflating quantities of
suspect (dollar) Credit instruments that they are being shortchanged
should weigh on U.S. markets, and keep in mind that strong U.S. markets
have provided major support for our faltering currency. And as the
Bubble’s inequitable (re)distribution of wealth gains greater
recognition, the strains between the "haves" and the "have nots" –
between debtor and creditor – between the U.S. and its highly liquefied
competitors for global resources - will surely intensify. The global
grab for limited resources should be expected to at some point turn more
hostile, providing greater incentive for the U.S. to inflate and for
others to aggressively exchange dollar liquidity for more attractive
stores of wealth/value.
Doug Noland is a market strategist at Prudent Bear Funds. Their
website is www.prudentbear.com. |