2013 was the year where trend dominated to the exclusion of everything else. Factoring in fundamentals was likely more a hindrance rather than a help. In fact it has been

Pre-market slams have become the norm in the comex gold market. Here is what happened this morning: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-11-20/furious-gold-slamdown-leads-third-consecutive-20-second-gold-market-halt What has become very clear over the year is that precious metals

QE is a “Feast for Wall Street”. QE is very clearly and directly correlated with the rise of US equities. QE impact on economic growth is minimal at best. Headline

John Mauldin’s weekly article, https://d21uq3hx4esec9.cloudfront.net/uploads/pdf/131102_TFTF2.pdf, entitled “Bubbles, Bubbles Everywhere” is very well timed. There are now so many signs of extreme conditions in financial markets that investors now need a careful

Status quo habits and inertia are formidable forces. So it can be remarkably hard to estimate when a change in direction is likely to happen. Charles Hugh Smith does a

“We never expected to find ourselves in an environment like this again, given the savings that were lost when the internet bubble popped.” David Einhorn Q3 2013 quarterly review. David

At this stage it is clear that the financial system is becoming increasingly distorted and unstable. Perhaps even more so than during the stock market peaks in 2007 or 2000.