Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Analyst Olympics: Watch Albert Edwards Perform the 1 1/2 Twisting Straddle (Jan. 15, 2013)

For shame. Of the dozens of Albert posts (join the cult by Jan. 31 and get the calendar for free!) that have graced our pages this is the least entertaining, the least self-aware and the least despondent in a long while.

And without at least one of those  attributes what's left? Rosenberg?

From FT Alphaville:
Albert and those ‘cheapest for a generation’ equities
Sadly, FT Alphaville’s New York wing couldn’t make it to this year’s Societe Generale-run bear sighting in London — the bank’s Global Strategy conference starring Albert Edwards and Dylan Grice (who’s off to the buyside).

But we did hear that Albert had called European stocks “unambiguously cheap”. It’s a “once in a generation” buying opportunity, and so on. Is Albert, no longer a equities bear!?
So we turned to his latest Global Strategy note on Tuesday. It’s a bit more subtle, actually:
Despite remaining maximum underweight equities myself (for another leg in the secular equity valuation bear market), I am starting to think the move by institutions away from equities has gone too far. Solvency, regulatory, and asset/liability modelling arguments are forcing institutions into a sub-optimal asset allocation – and one from which they have no intention of reversing. Institutions are investing heavily in bonds which they fully recognise might collapse as QE continues apace, but this will be matched by a similar reduction in liabilities (i.e. the solvency risk of being wrong on overweighting bonds is lower than overweighting equities). As equities over the next few years become the cheapest for a generation, they will be even more shunned. What an incredible opportunity this should then represent for defined contribution schemes and retail investors.
...MORE 

Seriously, look at some of these posts:

Season's Greetings From Société Générale's Albert Edwards (Nov. 14, 2012)
 Expect the New Year to bring nothing but disappointment....

Société Générale's Albert Edwards: "Stocks Face ‘Ice Age’ Drop as Indicators Peak..." Euro to $1.25; We're all Doomed
Société Générale's Albert Edwards: Cry Havoc and Let Slip the...Ah Screw it (Oct. 20, 2010)
"Société Générale's Albert Edwards: 'Equity Investors Are In A Vulcan Death Grip And Are About To Fall Unconscious"' (September 2010)
UPDATED--Société Générale's Albert Edwards: "This is as good as it gets" (Mar. 21, 2012)
This Week’s Advice: Canned Food, Guns and a Ham Radio
Société Générale's Albert Edwards and the Armenian K
Société Générale's Albert Edwards Upbeat, Almost Chipper: See's Humanity Approaching Broad Sunlit Uplands (Nov. 17, 2010)
Climateer Line of the Day: Société Générale's Albert Edwards Edition
 ...Estimates for a "soft landing" in China are another 
"pyramid of piffle..."
Société Générale's Albert Edwards: "S&P Fall to 400 Is ‘Inevitable’" (Sept. 29, 2011)
Société Générale's Albert Edwards: "Many Think I am Mad..." (sub 2% Treasuries, S&P at 400 etc.) May 25, 2011
Société Générale's Albert Edwards: "I Have Been Wrong – I’ve Been Too Bullish" (Jan. 17, 2011)

What happened Albert?