America's Economic Engine Heads for an Overhaul
The economy continues to sputter.

By Bob Stokes
4/26/2013 4:45:00 PM

Nothing short of a complete overhaul will get the U.S. economic engine purring again. The financial mechanics have been trying to get that engine firing on all cylinders for five years now. They've used every tool at their disposal. Yet the engine continues to sputter. There appears to be only one fix.

Filed Under: bloomberg, conquer the crash, consumer confidence, consumer price index, consumer spending, debt, deflation, economic depression, economic indicators, Elliott wave, monetary policy, monetization, U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed)

Category: U.S. Economy

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Every Big Economic Collapse Has a First Domino
When will the dominoes begin to tumble, or has it already begun?

By Bob Stokes
3/26/2013 4:45:00 PM

Financial history shows that every major credit boom is followed by a credit bust. The latest round of financial headlines remind us that unsustainable debt is crippling Europe. In the U.S., heavy debt burdens have put local and state governments in deep financial trouble. Federal debt rapidly approaches $17 trillion. What will be the first financial domino to fall?

Filed Under: 1929 Stock Market Crash, banks, Ben Bernanke, bloomberg, central banks, debt, economic indicators, Elliott wave, European debt crisis, gross domestic product (GDP), Interest Rates, monetary policy, quantitative easing, Robert Prechter, soverign debt crisis, U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed)

Category: U.S. Economy

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Suburban Poverty Up Nearly 64%
If this is an economic recovery, what will the next contraction look like?

By Bob Stokes
3/25/2013 4:45:00 PM

New research shows that poverty has spread faster in the suburbs than the inner city. Many Americans still haven't recovered from the real estate bust. Unemployment and under-employment remain historically high. Robert Prechter writes, "The Fed is doing everything it can to try to keep the credit balloon inflated. But it’s failing, because the markets and the economy are certainly not zooming, despite all the QEs and 0% interest rates." In the new Elliott Wave Theorist, you'll find 11 charts. Six of them, accompanied by Prechter's unique commentary, show why Americans should brace themselves for a major change in the economy.

Filed Under: CNBC, debt, deflation, economic indicators, Elliott wave, foreclosures, housing prices, Interest Rates, liquidity, personal finance, quantitative easing, Robert Prechter, stimulus package, U.S. STOCK MARKET, unemployment

Category: U.S. Economy

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Investors in Student Loan Securities Take on Big Risk
The higher-education bubble is set to burst

By Bob Stokes
3/6/2013 5:30:00 PM

Despite the growing percentage of students who are behind on their loan payments, investor demand for the securities derived from student loans also continues to grow. This grab for yield will likely end badly. The eventual bursting of the student loan bubble will contribute to the larger deflationary trend.

Filed Under: bailouts, debt, deflation, financial forecast, Interest Rates

Category: U.S. Economy

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Cutbacks in Government Services Only to Get Worse
USPS cutbacks now, but what next? Be prepared for more government cutbacks in the event of an economic crash.

By Bob Stokes
2/12/2013 6:00:00 PM

Huge financial losses have prompted the US Postal Service to end of a 150-year-old postal tradition: Saturday service. However, the proposed USPS cutbacks are only the start of a major trend toward government belt-tightening. Learn what steps you can take now to prepare.

Filed Under: conquer the crash, debt, economic depression, economic indicators, Elliott wave, history, Robert Prechter

Category: U.S. Economy

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Margin Debt is Fueling the Market Rally
Investors ignore the sign posts at their peril

By Bob Stokes
2/1/2013 3:00:00 PM

Margin debt is fueling the market rally, and the investors behind the wheel have no fear. Bob Prechter warns about this hazardous combination, and issues a bold stock market forecast for the next 3-1/2 years. Be aware that investors may face the most significant market juncture of the past three centuries.

Filed Under: Bob Prechter, CNBC, debt, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Elliott Wave Theorist, herding, investor psychology, market forecasts, sentiment, VIX

Category: Stocks

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Will 2013 Be the Year of Municipal Bonds?
A memory jog recalls what happened the last time the mainstream experts extolled munis for their immunity to default. Will history repeat itself now?

By Nico Isaac
12/31/2012 9:45:00 AM

Filed Under: credit crisis, debt, Elliott wave, Interest Rates, investment decisions, municipal bonds, pension funds, safe haven, U.S. Treasuries

Category: U.S. Economy

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6 Government "Fixes" That Came Too Late to Matter
Government, the ultimate crowd, is powerless to fix what's already occurred – but they always try.

By Bob Stokes
12/27/2012 12:30:00 PM

Robert Prechter says a huge price will be paid for excessive borrowing and spending. And that price is summed up in one word: deflation. Read what EWI subscribers are reading now about what could turn out to be the most severe economic contraction in American history and why the government is powerless to stop it.

Filed Under: 1929 Stock Market Crash, conquer the crash, debt, deficit, deflation, economic depression, economic indicators, Elliott Wave Theorist, history, Robert Prechter, U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed)

Category: U.S. Economy

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The Trap is Set for High-Yield Bond Investors
"Junk" bonds have that name for a good reason

By Bob Stokes
12/12/2012 5:45:00 PM

Low interest rates have attracted a swarm of yield hungry investors into junk bonds. Learn why these investors may have stepped into a soon-to-shut trap.
 

Filed Under: all the same market theory, credit rating, debt, Elliott wave, Interest Rates, junk bonds, risk appetite, Treasury bonds, treasury yields, U.S. Treasuries

Category: Interest Rates

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Why Much Bigger Bargains May Be Ahead for Consumers
Consumer confidence is at a 4 1/2-year high

By Bob Stokes
11/29/2012 5:00:00 PM

A look at the past five years of consumer survey data reveals that the two most extreme readings came near financial turning points. Now consider that the latest consumer confidence index figure is at a 4 1/2-year high.

Filed Under: conquer the crash, consumer price index, consumer spending, debt, deflation, economic indicators, Elliott wave, Robert Prechter, sentiment, supply and demand

Category: U.S. Economy

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U.S. Economy: "The Clock is Ticking. The Fuse Has Been Lit"
The deflationary trend is set to accelerate

By Bob Stokes
10/30/2012 6:15:00 PM

Sustainable economic growth comes from the private sector, not government. Yet the latest quarterly data showed that government spending accounted for one third of GDP growth. The real economic trend may be contraction. Read some samples of the evidence.
 

Filed Under: debt, deflation, economic indicators, Elliott wave

Category: U.S. Economy

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Diplomas and Debt: A Bubble That Could Match the Subprime Implosion
Financial bubbles always end badly

By Bob Stokes
10/22/2012 5:30:00 PM

Americans owe more on student loans than credit card and auto loans. Moreover, the delinquency rate for student loans is double the rate of credit card delinquencies. The student loan bubble is enormous, yet consider that it's just one part of the total debt picture that's set to burst. Learn more about the looming debt implosion so you can be prepared.

Filed Under: conquer the crash, debt, economic indicators, Elliott wave, Elliott Wave Theorist, financial forecast

Category: U.S. Economy

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In 1929, Deflation Started in Europe Before Overtaking the U.S.
What Happens in Europe Will Not Stay in Europe

By Bob Stokes
10/9/2012 5:45:00 PM

An economic downturn in one major area of the globe is likely to affect another. In fact, even during the Great Depression (long before the phrase "global economy"), Europe was exporting to America. But one historic export was not the kind that the U.S. welcomed.
 

Filed Under: 1929 Stock Market Crash, debt, deflation, economic depression, economic indicators, Elliott wave, European debt crisis, European Union (EU), history, soverign debt crisis, world central banks

Category: U.S. Economy

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Bernanke's Bigger Bubble: QE-3 and the Coming Economic Crash
Why monetarist theory is flawed

By Bob Stokes
9/14/2012 5:30:00 PM

We've all heard the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Why should we think QE-3 will work when the previous two failed? (Don't think they failed? Then ask yourself why we need a third one.) Monetary policy cannot make the global credit bubble simply vanish. Only a deflationary crash can do that. The chart below reveals why...
 

Filed Under: 1929 Stock Market Crash, Ben Bernanke, central banks, conquer the crash, credit crisis, credit rating, debt, deflation, economic depression, economic indicators, Elliott wave, Interest Rates, liquidity, monetary policy, quantitative easing, Robert Prechter, U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed)

Category: U.S. Economy

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Morphine-Injected Economy: Patient Remains Bed-Ridden
Position yourself properly for "a gigantic public disaster"

By Bob Stokes
7/27/2012 4:45:00 PM

Many people do not realize how long U.S. economic growth as been slowing. Moreover, this slowdown has a parallel to the lead-up to the Great Depression. Look at this chart...

 

Filed Under: Ben Bernanke, debt, deflation, economic depression, Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), great depression, gross domestic product (GDP), Robert Prechter, U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed)

Category: U.S. Economy

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What Every Elliott Wave Trader Needs For Their Personal Library
Serious about trading? Collect all of Robert Prechter's finest books at a 38% discount.

By Jill Noble
7/19/2012 5:30:00 PM

Filed Under: Bob Prechter, debt, deflation, Elliott Wave Education, Elliott Wave Principle, Fibonacci, forex trading, Prechter's Perspective, Robert Prechter, social mood, socionomics, stock market cycles, technical analysis, technical indicators, Traders

Category: Education

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The Federal Reserve Has No Cure for What Ails the Economy
Learn why the credit crisis will inevitably conclude in a deflationary depression

By Bob Stokes
7/18/2012 3:30:00 PM

The Federal Reserve will not be able to prevent a global credit collapse. EWI's Financial Forecast Service offers ideas on how to position yourself. These are ideas you can put to work right away. The unprecedented build-up of credit in the past 80 years means the economic collapse could be swift. It's best to prepare now...

Filed Under: banks, Ben Bernanke, central banks, credit crisis, credit rating, debt, deficit, deflation, economic depression, economic indicators, Elliott wave, european central bank, European debt crisis, Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), Greenspan, liquidity, M3 money supply, monetary policy, monetization, QE2, quantitative easing, Sovereign Debt, Treasury bonds, U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed), unemployment

Category: U.S. Economy

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History Has a Lesson for Real Estate Investors Who Think the Bubble is Fully Deflated
The service that forecast the real estate implosion warns of other bubbles

By Bob Stokes
7/16/2012 4:15:00 PM

Remember, real estate turned with lightning speed and accelerated downward. Yet the plunging prices were almost universally unexpected. Other financial asset classes are now sending equally ominous signs of major trend turns...

Filed Under: all the same market theory, commercial real estate, conquer the crash, consumer confidence, debt, deflation, economic depression, Elliott wave, financial forecast, foreclosures, great depression, history, home sales, housing prices, market forecasts, subprime lending

Category: U.S. Economy

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Largest City Bankruptcy Ever: Stockton Will Not Be Alone
Too much borrowing and spending will doom other municipalities

By Bob Stokes
6/27/2012 4:30:00 PM

A recent issue of the The Elliott Wave Financial Forecast observes that "Muni investors have so far shrugged off the increased risk of defaults." Complacency is a financially dangerous mind-set right now. The financial dominoes are all lined up, and it appears the invisible finger has just nudged the first domino...

Filed Under: Club EWI, commercial real estate, conquer the crash, debt, deficit, deflation, economic depression, economic indicators, Elliott wave, home sales, housing prices, municipal bonds, pension funds

Category: U.S. Economy

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Debt and Deflation: The Economic Valley Looks Deep
Signs of financial conservatism

By Bob Stokes
6/14/2012 5:30:00 PM

In normal economic times, keeping money under the mattress makes you an oddball. You're supposed to trust financial institutions. The basic savings account has zero risk. But in today's economic climate...

Filed Under: cash, conquer the crash, debt, deflation, money markets, mutual funds, safe haven, sentiment, stock indexes

Category: U.S. Economy

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