Eddy Elfenbein: The Year The Fear Bubble Popped

by Eddy Elfenbein, Crossing Wall Street

Lately, many investors have been tripping over themselves in an attempt to call the current stock market ā€œa bubble.ā€ Me, Iā€™m in the doubter camp. But whatā€™s interesting is that this question misses a much larger point ā€” weā€™ve been watching a bubble pop all year. The bubble was in fear.

Here are a few charts that illustrate this point. Check out the return of the S&P 500 compared with the Long-Term Bond ETF (TLT):

big12262013

Volatility has also dropped. The S&P 500 had only three days all year of moves greater than 2%. Hereā€™s the Volatility Index (VIX) going back three years:

big12262013a

Check out gold, everyoneā€™s favorite Doomsday investment, which has been falling like..well, a rock. This will be goldā€™s first losing year since 2000:

fredgraph12262013

Even within stocks, safe-haven sectors like utilities lagged the market:

big12262013b

Meanwhile, small-cap stocks have been living large:

big12262013c

And within bonds, the safety premium between risky and non-risky has narrowed dramatically:

fredgraph12262013c

Whoa! Long-term TIPs yields are finally positive:

fredgraph12262013d

Posted by on December 26th, 2013 at 11:25 am

The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.

Copyright Ā© Crossing Wall Street

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