Deficit Attention Syndrome / Contrary Investor "Hall of Fame"

i highly recommend to read the full piece! please click on the headline this is only a very small extract. excellent!

lege jedem die volle dosis ans herz. bitte auf die überschrift klicken. wirklich brilliant!


...Quite importantly, it's this change in the rate of growth in goods imports that we believe may be a key tell regarding the broader economy. First, is it really any wonder that the rate of change in goods imports has been falling as of late when the annual rate of change in retail sales has slowed to levels last seen in early 2003? Of course not, as so many consumer goods are imported. Having said all of this, the following two charts are probably the most important in this portion of the discussion. First, the long-term picture of the year over year rate of change in US goods imports lies directly below.


As you will clearly see in the chart, there has only been one time in the last three and one half decades where we have fallen below the current rate of change level and the US has not entered or already been in an official recession. That exception was the mid-cycle economic slowdown of the mid-1980's. We suggest that the current possibility of a rate of change break below current levels may be more important than ever given the sheer nominal dollar magnitude of the current goods deficit as part of the overall trade numbers. As we're sure you know, the US runs a services surplus (tourism and travel related). The goods deficit is really larger than the headline US trade deficit. THAT's how important changes in goods imports and exports really are in the current environment.

The next chart is really the important one in terms of defining and characterizing the US trade deficit, as we know it today. What we are looking at is the percentage of the total US trade deficit being driven by both imports of crude oil and imports from China. We've delineated each separately as well as presented their ongoing combined value in the blue columns. The message is clear. In 2006, 66% of the US trade deficit is accounted for by crude imports and the trade deficit with China. It's no wonder China/US trade circumstances are such a perceptual political flash point. Unless something acts to change the trajectory of these trends, it will probably only be a year or two until crude and China account for three-quarters of the total US trade deficit. Outside of crude and China, it almost seems trade with the rest of the planet is an afterthought in terms of the overall US deficit specifically. ....

make sure you get the last paragraph from hank paulsen.....(click headline)

achtet besonders auf den letzten absatz von hank paulsen...(überschrift klicken)