Tag Archives: Dow

ECONOMY UPDATE

MAY 2, 2025 – It is really difficult to write anything about the economy after the passing of KC Conway, CRE, MAI this week. KC was a great guy. Brilliant mind. The last 20+ years of his career he turned his focus to being an economist. Everyone liked KC. A rare individual. He will be missed by our industry and obviously his family and friends. RIP my friend.
Very briefly, 1st Quarter GDP came in at a -0.3%. As I mentioned in my April 5th post, and last August, the stock market was forecasting a huge negative surprise for this quarter. 99%+ of us had no clue what would cause it. That doesn’t matter. The stock market just says it will happen.
My last email to KC went unanswered. I now know why. I was wondering how much of the GDP reading was attributed to the extreme import trade as companies rushed to beat the tariffs. KC never replied. I have since heard it was probably around 2.0%. So, the actual GDP would have been around +1.7%.
As the import trade will be the reverse in the 2nd Quarter and companies will have stopped ordering from overseas, this will ‘falsely’ inflate the GDP by a similar amount. Early indications are around +2%. This might fall as the economy will definitely be weakening into the Summer. But, the odds of two consecutive negative GDP quarterly readings is very low. Thus, an ‘official’ recession is unlikely at this point.
That said, the market has forecast significant weakness at the beginning of the Fall. Things should be much clearer by then.
As an aside, the DOW Industrials never did trigger a Bear Market. They came close like last August.
That’s enough. Remember, to enjoy EVERY day of your life. We do not know when it will be our last.
Shalom,
The Mann

STOCK MARKET & ECONOMY UPDATE

APRIL 4, 2025 – OK, it is tough for me to stay away when a nice bear market is going on:) It is almost exactly 5 years to the last time we saw a falling knife market. Back then, I believe I was the first and only person to predict well in advance that we would see the first ever 2,000- and 3,000-point down days in the Dow 30. Today, we had another 2,000-point down day. I have constantly explained that the market predicts things 6 months into the future. So, let’s see what it has been saying about the economy.
Last August, the market told us that in the 1st Quarter of 2025 we would see a huge hiccup. What it would be, I had no clue. We now know it was tariffs. The Dow did not enter a bear market last August and rebounded to peak on December 4th at just over 45,000. After this week, most people wouldn’t believe it but the Dow needs to go down another 3,000 points to enter a bear market.
That said, the decline since December is telling us that the economy will be pretty weak in the 3rd Quarter of this year. That probably seems obvious to everyone by now. But, did anyone see this coming in December? Very few did.
In my July 30, 2023 post I stated the following:
“I will put this hidden little sentence out there to refer back to in 12-18 months – The chance of a recession occurring looks to be 4th Quarter 2024 into 2025.” This is an indicator that forecasts a few years out. It appears to be on track for a good call.
HOUSING – As with banks (see below), I spent the last 3 years telling you to be bullish while all of the economists were bearish. The S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) went from a low of 51.23 in June 2022 (the end of the George Mann-called Recession) to a high of 126.09 in November 2024. A 146% bull run that those wonderful economists kept people from participating in. The index has declined 26% since the all-time high. With a record number of spec new homes on the market, the market looks to be right about forecasting a weakening house market. Oh, and don’t forget to let the Housing Shortage Hoaxers know there are a ton of vacant new homes out there. It is so funny when I see them state we are short 4 or 5 or 6 million housing units. Keep drinking that kool-aid:)
BANKS – In the 2 years since the SVP implosion have you just been stunned by the hundreds and hundreds of bank failures? Oh wait, we can still count on one hand the number of failures. Maybe those broken-record bank naysayers are once again shouting out ludicrous bank failure numbers as a weakening economy upon us. I can see a few more. But, I just don’t see the Fed letting it get out of hand.
As for the S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE), let’s see what the economists cost you. The index bottomed at 34.52 on May 1, 2023. It peaked at 70.25 on the same day as the Homebuilders ETF in November 2024. That was a nice 103.5% advance those economists told you to stay away from. The index has declined 30%. Both the Homebuilders and Regional Banking ETF are solidly in bear markets.
FED FUNDS RATE – The market has it set at about 4.2%. This leaves no room for a reduction from the current 4.25%-4.5% range. That is interesting as the market is giving a 50% chance of 5 rate reductions this year! Also, the 10-year Treasury Bond Yield dropped below 4%. It will probably take another few weeks for the bond and stock markets to settle down from the recent chaos. A lot to figure out as to how the worldwide tariff war will play out.
In conclusion, 2022-2024 was easy to forecast re everything being bullish. 95%+ of economists calling for a recession during that timeframe made it extra easy to be bullish. During a 2-week period from Thanksgiving to the first week in December, the market changed its forecast to a rough 2025. It is easy to look at things now and say yep this is going to be a rough year. The problem is the market forecast this 5 months ago. Just now as the public throws in the towel they are already down 15%-30%+ in their portfolios. The Smart Money thanks them for buying strongly after the Election – someone had to buy everything the Smart Money was selling:)
If you wonder if this bear market (again not for the Dow, yet, which is the sole indicator of such) is over, the public bought a record $4.7 Billion of stocks on Thursday. Who knows how much more they bought today with the market down 2200 points. The bottom will occur when the public is selling record amounts of stock. Capitulation is needed. It has always happened. It will again.
Shalom,
The Mann

DOW 2025 FORECAST

JANUARY 11, 2025 – To be quick and to the point, I don’t have a forecast for the stock market for this year. Things just aren’t as clear as they have been over the past 3 years. The last 3 years were pretty easy to forecast. You didn’t even need my analysis. You could have simply done the opposite of what 99% of economists were saying to do:) As they say, weathermen are so grateful that economists exist:)
In summary, go back to my January 9, 2024 post about the DOW. It peaked on December 4th at 45,074. I had provided how the Elliott Waves for the DOW would play out and the top could be at the specific targets of 44,214, 44,256, 44,298, and 45,598. I also said the Bull Market had 6 months left with 9-15 months likely. The current top occurred 11 months later.
Although, this forecast wasn’t exactly perfect like my election forecast, I think it was pretty darn close.
As with my election forecasts, I am mulling over foregoing future stock market forecasts. The goal when I started this blog was to help people see how useful the Elliott Wave Theory (EWT) and Socionomics can be in forecasting the future. Personally, I believe I have proven my point. Albeit, most people will never follow EWT or Socionomics. I have used them to guide my life for 45 years now. I have no complaints. Much better than listening to economists and pundits:)
A few months ago, I believe I discovered the Holy Grail of stock trading. It only took me 50+ years to find something like this. So, I am going to focus on it from here on. Putting my entire retirement on the line. And wondering if some rich person wants to pay me several million dollars for an exclusive to this trade:) We shall see. I believe it is worth way more than that though. My contact info can surely be found on the web:)
Please visit ElliottWave.Com (Robert Prechter’s service…do not try out any other services claiming to follow the EWT). I can only lead you all to this way of forecasting the markets and investing based on it. It is up to you from here.
Best of luck. Happy New Year!
Shalom,
The Mann

STOCK MARKET UPDATE

NOVEMBER 8, 2024 – IN 2023, with the Dow around 34,000, I was the only person I could find predicting 40,000 in 2024. In May 2024, I posted the following:
——————————————————–
TARGET 1 – The current rally peaks out around 40,522. This is followed by a decline to the 37,008-38,350 range. Then a final rally to the 42,872-45,640 range with possible targets within the range being 44,214 and 44,298.
TARGET 2 – The current rally peaks out around 41,906. This is followed by a decline to the 38,392-39,734 range. Then a final rally to the 44,256-47,819 range with possible targets within the range being 44,256 and 45,598.
Obviously, it would be best to round the numbers and use general ranges. Based on the above, I would say the current rally should take us above 40,000 and up to 42,000 at the high end. A small decline should end in the 37,000 to 39,000 range. And the last big move in this Bull Market should end between 43,000 and 47,000.
————————————————————
The Dow hit a low of 38,499 on August 5th. Right in the target range forecast above. Today the Dow has crossed 44,000 for the first time. Right around the targets identified over 6 months ago. I am pleasantly surprised how many analysts now (try to) use the Elliott Wave Theory. 44 years ago probably only a handful of people in the world used it. I have relied on it my whole adult life. The above shows it works.
With Trump winning, I will be watching to see if this Bull Market can be extended beyond the ranges forecast above. I won’t get into that right now. Maybe I will do that the last week of December when I make my various 2025 forecasts.
I will leave you with a forecast that Bitcoin will go to $100,000-$190,000 in 2025. A wide range yes. But, this is a volatile asset with a relatively short period of historical data and trends to analyze. I am heavily invested in it and silver which should go above $40.
Enjoy the Holidays!
Shalom,
The Mann

MY LAST ECONOMY UPDATE

NOVEMBER 8, 2024 – As with my election forecast, I think this will be my final economy post. For different reasons though. I believe I have made the point clear that all you need to do to know where the economy is going is to watch the stock market. I believe that is still the Dow 30 Industrials. Albeit, I will watch over time to see if the NASDAQ 100 takes over as the better indicator. For now, I do not see that happening.
So, as I have said numerous times before, the stock market is forecasting 6 months into the future. Right now, the market is working in May 2025. With the Dow at an all-time high, we are assured that there will be no recession through the 2nd Quarter of 2025. And since it takes two consecutive negative GDP figures to get a recession, the odds of a recession next year are getting very slim.
3rd Quarter GDP came in at a super strong +2.8% (remember, anything above 0.5%-0.7% is incredible strong). 4th Quarter GDP is currently forecast to be above +2.0%.
Based on the early August downturn in the markets, we might have some kind of hiccup in the 1st Quarter of 2025. It won’t result in a negative GDP though.
So, I leave you with this last post on the economy as you now know how easy it is to forecast. The best part is you don’t need to watch a thousand indicators like ISM, M-2, PPI, CPI, Consumer Sentiment Index, yield curve blah blah blah. Economists follow all of that and, as my step-daughter says about weathermen, it must be nice to get paid to be right only 30% of the time. LOL They do all of this work and analysis only to be wrong.
For the past 2.5 years since the still not recognized Recession of early 2022, I have showed you what the stock market has said about the economy and it has been 100% correct. The vast majority of economists and pundits have been 100% wrong. I don’t try to take credit for being right the past 2.5 years. Why should I? I simply followed what the stock market said and it was the market that was right all along.

The one thing I will take credit for is I forecast that about a dozen recession predictors would fail this time around. Some of these indicators had perfect records for over 50+ years. So, I was out on a limb saying that one after another was going fail this time around. I still have yet to explain in detail how I knew that. Maybe one day. The point is not even those (still) very good indicators are worth following. The stock market does everything for you. It is that simple. As they say, KISS.
So, for FREE, you know all you need to know about future economic conditions for the remainder of your life. You do not need to waste your time reading or listening to economists and pundits or even doing your own research and analysis. Now that is a great deal for such an important forecast!
I am always here if you want to discuss anything. When someone asks me to look at something specific, I usually do it for them. As I have said, for some reason I was born to forecast the future. It is just what I love to do.
A stock market post is forthcoming.
As an aside, it has been fun to watch all of the pollsters make up excuses for being wrong. Truly pitiful to be honest. One pollster said ‘I think people….blah blah blah.’ I about jumped out of my chair yelling ‘you think’?!?!? Why in the heck didn’t you ask people why they did such and such!!!!!!! You have one job and you don’t do it? You are going to guess? It is a different era for sure. I was brought up in an era where when you said something you better have the proof to back it up. Oh well.
Thanks for the messages from millions of readers…ok dozens:)
Shalom,
The Mann

ECONOMY UPDATE

JULY 29, 2024 – A quick note that the 2-year vs. 10-year Treasury spread is down to a -16bp. Probably the lowest it has been in a few years. If you have read my prior posts, I mentioned that a coincident indicator will be when this spread hits +100bp — at that point we will be in the middle of a recession. The good part is first it has to get back to par and then it has a long way to get to +100bp. So, we have ample time to know a recession is the light we see at the end of the tunnel. Just another item that is starting to increase the odds of a recession occurring in 2025. Probably the best indicator we will have is when we see the headline – ‘Economists do not see a recession occurring in 2025.’ 🙂

JULY 26, 2024 – Just to be transparent, I cashed in most of my holdings today. When the Dow is up 700 points it is a good day to sell:) We continue to see the Dow perform way better than the NASDAQ. My expectation of one more new high move by the Dow not being confirmed by the NASDAQ looks better and better.

JULY 25, 2024 – 2nd Quarter GDP came out above expectations at +2.8%. We have now completed 2 full years of strong economic growth. Something that 99% of the economists and pundits said would not occur.
I do some of my best thinking in my dreams. I have long thought of them as an alternate reality and am amazed at some of the things they come up with. As I dreamed about the economy, an analogy came to mind. A traffic stoplight.
For the past 2 years, the economy has been on solid Green. Economists and pundits kept calling for Yellow or full Red. We never had a chance of such and never came close.
However, for the first time in over 2 years, I am switching my signal from solid Green to that hard to see split second when Green starts to turn to Yellow. As I have mentioned many times, the stock market (Dow 30 for my analysis) is forecasting the economy 6 months into the future. Right now, that is the end of February 2025. Basically, next Spring.
The NASDAQ 100 has a good chance of having topped on July 10th. Thus, it would be in the first stages of a Bear Market. My analysis is calling for the Dow to make one more move to new highs peaking as low as 42,000. 43,000 still remains possible. The NASDAQ 100 would also rally. But, not to new highs. If the Dow does put in a final top over the next month, then it would be saying the economy will peak by the 1st Quarter of 2025 and start a downturn after that. I forget how long ago it was that I mentioned a long lead time indicator was suggesting a recession in 2025. Also, the first year of a Presidential cycle often sees a recession.
In summary, it looks like the economy’s Green light is just starting to change to Yellow. Using another analogy, the stock market appears to be the first car on a rollercoaster that has passed the top and started downward.
I will say that my 50+ years of experience says that stock market tops are tough to call as they stretch out over a period of time. Stock market bottoms are usually easy to see as they take a ‘V-formation.’ Interestingly, commodities do just the opposite.
Lastly, ALL sentiment indicators say almost all stock markets (NASDAQ, S&P 500, Dow, Russell, etc) are around a top.
We shall see how the next month or so plays out. There is a small chance the Dow has already topped, too. I will be watching closely.
Shalom,
The Mann

MID-YEAR UPDATE

JULY 3, 2024 – I forgot two items in post below. The next wave up should take gold to $2500-$2600 ounce and the next wave up should take Bitcoin well above $100,000. And most importantly, Happy 248th Birthday to the USA!

JULY 1, 2024 – As you get older, the years fly by quicker and quicker:) Here’s an update on a few items.
STOCK MARKET – The Dow has now put in two lows in the 37,500-39,000 that I had forecast for being a bottom. I think it will put in a third low around 38,500 before the Summer is over. Then we should see a strong rally to the final Bull Market top of 43,000+.
BONDS – Treasury Bonds are at a critical junction. I don’t like those because what it says is we may go up or we may go down. Anyone can say that lol. I am sticking with the bullish case and expect a turn up at any moment literally with interest rates declining for several months. Even if the weakness occurs, it just delays the up move in prices and thus downturn in interest rates.
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE – Simply put, I expect it to be 4.4%-4.5% by yearend.
RECESSION – Today is the 2nd anniversary of a very strong economic expansion. As I noted all along, it was missed by the vast majority of economists and pundits. Also remember, until the 2030’s when we see +100% annual GDP, we will not see annual rates of 3%+ anymore. Annual growth over 1% is good and over 2% is exceptional and cannot be sustained for long. As with interest rates, people need to adjust to the new normal. Is a recession finally the horizon. Yes, finally! I mentioned last year that a longer-term indicator was suggesting a recession might occur in 2025. First years of a presidential cycle are usually the weakest. Also, if the stock market does top out this Fall and turns down significantly, then it will be signally for a recession at the end of Spring into the Summer of 2025. As I mentioned awhile back, when the economists and pundits give up on a recession, then we know one is right around the corner:) Numerous articles like the following have come out this year:
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/yield-curve-disinversion-is-recession-signal-watch-2024-06-04/
Although some argue this indicator has not been wrong since World War II, it was wrong in 1966. What is significant about that? That was the year the Dow first broke 1,000 and was at all-time highs. Similar to today.
In the above article and others, people start grasping at straws and say well maybe it isn’t wrong, yet. In the past recessions have started 13-22 months or whatever after the inversion occurs (fyi it was July 2022 when it occurred this time around). We are now passing 24 months and with a near zero chance of a recession occurring this year, we will be at 30+ months. Time to just admit this, and another dozen indicators I have mentioned in past blogs, indicator is simply wrong. Come on, admit it:)
Enjoy your Summer and an interesting Fall. Only 126 days til the 2024 Presidential Election. But, sadly, only 1,587 days til the 2028 Presidential Election and we know the campaigning begins after the 2024 election is settled (which no longer is the day or night of the election itself).
Shalom,
The Mann

STOCK MARKET AND INTEREST RATES

MAY 15, 2024 – It has only been ten days since I posted an update about stocks and bonds. But, when things change, you need to note it. It looks like the recent correction ended in my target range and the final leg of this Bull Market is underway. We are dealing with TARGET 1 from my January 8th post which stated the following:
TARGET 1 – The current rally peaks out around 40,522. This is followed by a decline to the 37,008-38,350 range. Then a final rally to the 42,872-45,640 range with possible targets within the range being 44,214 and 44,298.
Obviously, it would be best to round the numbers and use general ranges. Based on the above, I would say the current rally should take us above 40,000 and up to 42,000 at the high end. A small decline should end in the 37,000 to 39,000 range. And the last big move in this Bull Market should end between 43,000 and 47,000.
===================================
In late March, the DOW peaked at about 40,300. Since then, a data correction has been made and the top is listed at just under 40,000. I haven’t seen that happen before. Regardless, the top was close enough to the Target 1 projection of 40,522. The subsequent correction was a short 5 weeks (ended April 17th) and bottomed in the 37,000 to 38,500 range at precisely 37,612.
As noted in the January 8th forecast above, the final target range is in the 43,000 to 45,500 range. It is crazy to be precise (albeit the past 5 months have been spot on), but I really am liking 44,000 to 44,300 for a final top. As this final leg plays out, a more precise target can be made.
Remember, a Bull Market climbs a wall of worries. And for 18+ months it has fed on the world predicting a recession. Regardless of where we go from here, ALL of those economists and pundits have been 100% wrong. The case is closed on them.
INTEREST RATES – As noted ten days ago, it appears the bond decline ended on April 25th. Bonds have rallied strongly since then. Albeit, the first wave of the 5-wave move has probably ended and a small decline should start immediately. A much larger rally lies ahead – which means interest rates will resume their decline at that time.
I will post updates as the stock and bond rallies unfold.
Shalom,
The Mann
P.S. If I told you that sometime in the 2030’s we may have +100% annual GDP growth, what would you say?

STOCK MARKET AND INTEREST RATES

MAY 5, 2024 – It’s been awhile since I posted about stocks and bonds. It takes time for the waves to play out. Back on January 8th I posted the following:
There are two target options so I will simply label them 1 and 2. They are both bullish so I am not saying the market may go up, but it may go down:) Just saying that there are a few ways it can play out statistically. So here goes the impossible….
TARGET 1 – The current rally peaks out around 40,522. This is followed by a decline to the 37,008-38,350 range. Then a final rally to the 42,872-45,640 range with possible targets within the range being 44,214 and 44,298.
TARGET 2 – The current rally peaks out around 41,906. This is followed by a decline to the 38,392-39,734 range. Then a final rally to the 44,256-47,819 range with possible targets within the range being 44,256 and 45,598.
Obviously, it would be best to round the numbers and use general ranges. Based on the above, I would say the current rally should take us above 40,000 and up to 42,000 at the high end. A small decline should end in the 37,000 to 39,000 range. And the last big move in this Bull Market should end between 43,000 and 47,000.
===================================
In late March, the DOW peaked at about 40,300. Since then, a data correction has been made and the top is listed at just under 40,000. I haven’t seen that happen before. Regardless, the top was close enough to the Target 1 projection of 40,522. The subsequent correction has been underway for 5 weeks and we are right in the 37,000 to 38,500 range.
As I have noted in the past, as the waves unfold I can update the targets. I would say the low end of the range needs to be lowered to 36,000. I do not think the low for this correction is in place, yet.
INTEREST RATES – There is a good chance the bond decline finally ended on April 25th. This was a 4-month decline. From here bonds should rally at least through the Summer and interest rates should decline at least 100bp.
I will post a stock update when I believe this correction has ended.
Shalom,
The Mann

INFLATION AND ECONOMY UPDATES

FEBRUARY 12, 2024 – The January report came in at 3.1%, just below my forecast of 3.2%-3.3%. and above the consensus estimate of 2.9%.
The 3-month annualized inflation rate is 1.0%. The 6-month annualized inflation rate is 1.8%. These figures are lower than the annualized rate (3.1%) and thus indicate the annual CPI should drift lower.
The data is predicting a reading between 2.6% and 2.7% next month. Like last month, I think this will be way off. Inflation is historically high in January and February. I am going to forecast 3.0%-3.1% for next month’s figure.
ECONOMY – We have had 6 straight quarters of above 2% GDP growth since the recession in the first half of 2022 ended. The last two quarters have been above 3% (!) and some forecasts expect another 3%+ figure for the First Quarter of 2024. With annual population growth around 0.7%, any GDP growth above that amount is exceptional. The chance of a recession occurring this year remains slim to nil. It certainly won’t occur in the first half of this year.
STOCKS – The Dow 30 continues its march towards 40,000. I never did see anyone else predict 40,000 this year. I suspect there are a few others like me out there somewhere. As they saay, never count your chickens before they hatch. 38k+ is not 40k. But, the stock market is saying the economy this Summer should be extremely strong.
The recession mongers couldn’t have been more wrong for the past 20 months. They will continue to be wrong into the foreseeable future.
Shalom,
The Mann