The first data point comes from a press release from the Jerome Levy Forecasting Center (it’s not online):
According to the just released July 28 Levy Forecast, while many give the private economy credit for resiliency, “Few understand that the government deficit now accounts for all of the economy’s profits.”
The second is in Mark Hulbert’s Marketwatch column (via Michael Panzner):
Corporate insiders have recently been selling their companies’ shares at a greater pace than at any time since the top of the bull market in the fall of 2007.
The third is in Jeremy Grantham’s quarterly letter to clients (pdf!):
A year ago, equities globally—and everything else for that matter—were very overpriced, particularly if they were risky. A quarter ago, in mid March, prices everywhere were cheap. Now they have all—or almost all—converged for a few unusual moments at fair value. A year ago, it was very easy to know what to be: a risk avoider. It was not so easy reinvesting when terrified, but most of us knew that we should have been doing more. But today? It’s difficult to be inspired at fair value.
Put it all together and, well, I don’t know. But it doesn’t exactly make me optimistic about stocks.
