The good news is the market is not collapsing or even falling much. The bad news is the market isn't rising in its upwards trajectory. I expect more consolidation and little overall movement with the good side being the next test will be upwards movement. Then we will see if the market gets yanked back down towards further consolidation.

FYI: This has little to do with Demographics and is more just chart reading.

Are these initial readings or adjusted. The reason people get wrong information is that they look at the adjusted numbers which like the last recession are much different than the initial numbers making people miss the recession by days, weeks, or months.

It's a bit late to buy into this rally. China is buying it because China is getting more serious about reigning in the pollution in its cities given it is horrible. That said, I wouldn't bet on massive global auto sales and electric cars don't need palladium.

The cycle is old, everyone knows it. It was artificially supported by artificially low interest rates, then QE, and now by dollar devaluation. I figure it will hold out this year. I would play this by investing in companies that reap bigger incomes from overseas sales as the dollar declines or by investing in healthy companies that are growing and don't need to raise more money (hopefully close to debt free). Sadly there are 2 other things supporting the market. Decreases in share counts by buyouts and corporate buybacks fueled with debt making it harder to find low debt load companies. And higher dividends and debt fueling unsustainable growth and valuations. It is uncertain how long this mix will last. The longer it does the weaker the US gets because money that used to go to working capital and capital investment is no longer going there.

You can blame foreign trade or anything else, however, our broken monetary system that is distorting the free market is what is encouraging bad short term decisions and leading us into a forest filled with loins,tigers, and a giant bear.

Hopefully Asian leaders will realize and work to do something to really control North Korea before it becomes too late. It appears it is already getting dangerously close to being too late. I think everyone knows that sanctions alone will not stop the nuclear clock from going to zero.

The market is oversold on the short term, but it is also justified due to news about potential budget issues, hurricanes, and North Korea. A steady flow of good and bad news can't be avoided and keeps the markets somewhat balanced. Until there is good news the market as always tends to revert to short term trends.

Senior care living is depressing and the family structure has broken down so badly its even worse when they aren't visited there. It is no wonder seniors fight to stay put as long as possible. The whole conundrum is sad.

This is another reason why investing in companies with global diversification is important. I'm not worried about Exxon they will make it up on higher priced sales elsewhere, but other oil in the region may be very adversely affected.

Gold isn't doing so hot given the devaluation of the US dollar which is the only reason it has risen at all. The dollar devaluation is the key here although the negative effects of it won't be felt this year. If it continues it could look quite bad a few years from now, or even next year. It is hard to say.