http://www.wealthdaily.com/articles/...d-emerges/3347
"It’s that time of the year again: predictions time.
In the media world, the more extreme, scary, and shocking you can make them, the more attention that can be generated with your predictions — hence, the better the predictions are.
They have nothing to do with reality.
In the days ahead, you will hear and read calls for outright booms, calamitous depressions, and everything in between. And quite conveniently, they’re all going to happen within the next calendar year."
"The Good Side of the Bubble's Going Bust:
Keeping the focus on consumers, there is some good news for them in real estate.
While housing’s collapse has been at the center of the ongoing recession, there are many benefits from the drop in real estate prices. The biggest is freeing up more money to be spent elsewhere.
The chart below shows mortgage payments now make up the smallest percentage (by far) of income they have in 25 years:
This is a great thing for the economy as a whole."
"It’s not just housing prices: Consumers could be getting even more of their income freed up in 2012 as another costly bubble show signs of deflating.
Grocery bills could be headed for a sharp drop in 2012 as well.
Last week we noted how a farm in Iowa recently sold for $20,000 an acre — more than 10 times the average price for Iowa farmland a decade ago.
The extreme high for farmland is an indicator that the agriculture sector may have run up too far, too fast once again."
"The best way to track real consumption activity is through rail traffic. It measures the number of rail cars and physical volume of stuff transported from producers to consumers. In other words, it’s a great indicator of the real economy and real wealth creation.
The following chart, put together by the Pragmatic Capitalist, shows rail traffic continues to add to the previous recovery:"
"Although the growth rates are nothing like the post-credit crisis rebound, they are still positive.
That shows consumption of more stuff is still on the rise.
Better yet, as more disposable income rises, rail traffic will increase even more."
"Don’t Bet Against the Trend
Finally, there is one trend that has been alarmingly consistent over the past two centuries.
It’s driven by basic human nature — that is, to get wealthier and improve one’s living conditions.
The chart below shows U.S. GDP has consistently grown for nearly two centuries:"
"Even the Great Depression was nothing more than a minor blip on the long-run growth, innovation, and productivity of a free people.
This is one trend not to bet against next year — or over the long-run, either.
When it comes to looking ahead in 2012, there’s a lot to look forward to...
The bubbly boom times may be a long ways away but the near-term trends affecting disposable income are laying the foundation for an improved recovery and more growth.
Any further corrections next year (because there will be corrections) should be seen as an opportunity rather than another cause for exiting the markets altogether."






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