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Pastor Kevin Swanson makes two good points.
1. American stocks are overvalued.
2. There will be a big correction in 2024.
"Are American stocks overvalued?
The NASDAQ stock index has hit an all-time high, closing Friday at 16,826. That’s up from 1,204 in 2009, a 14-fold increase.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed for the year 2023 at 37,690, up from 7,060 in 2009. That’s a 5-fold increase. Meanwhile, almost every other stock market in the world hasn’t come close to these valuations.
WolfStreet.com reports that the Chinese Shanghai composite is still where it was in 2009. Japan’s Nikkei is leveled off where the index stood in 1989. The UK FTSE Index is up about 50% since 2009. Spain’s IBEX index is still where it was sitting in 2009. Canada’s Index is up about 40% from 2008.
Economist predicts 2024 “biggest single crash year in our lifetimes”
Is the American industry really doing 20 to 100 times better than England, China, and Japan?
U.S. economist Harry Dent told Fox Business: “Since 2009, this has been a 100% artificial [economy], with unprecedented money printing and deficits; $27 trillion over 15 years, to be exact. … We’re in a dangerous state. 2024 is going to be the biggest single crash year we’ll see in our lifetimes.”
The economist forecasts an 86% crash in the S&P, a 92% crash in the NASDAQ, 96% for crypto, and significant deflation on housing prices.
But Jesus said, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” (Luke 12:15) Our Savior also said, “Lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)"
The narrow strait is the most important chokepoint for the world's oil supply. Some 21 million barrels — or $1.2 billion worth of oil — pass through the strait every day.
Will a closed Strait hurt Iran? In terms of international oil sales, yes, but in terms of daily life, no. Iran pumps 3.5 million barrels of crude oil per day. The situation at this hour:
Most people hear “Hormuz” and think gas prices.
That’s part of it. But it’s bigger. It’s a central artery for global trade, and we talked about how disruptions hit second-order systems fast, including inputs tied to food production (field work and fertilizers), trucking, and downstream shocks in everything from shipping insurance to medicine, medical supplies, medical treatments and regional stability.
This is why the “we’re energy independent so it doesn’t matter” line is naive. In a globally priced commodity world, you don’t get to opt out.
Former Muslim Ayaan Hirsi Ali comes to Christ and discovers the supernatural Christian heritage of West, and how worldly families destroyed it. She is now married and living in the US.
"I like Os Guinness’s analogy of the cut flower civilization. I find it very vivid in regard to non-Christian conservative parents. Conservative non-Christian families are cutting themselves off from our foundational roots.
Let’s think about what happens to a plant when the roots die. What happens when you pick flowers and put them in a vase? Obviously, the flowers wither. And if you cut conservative morals off from Christianity, they fade.
"This decline is exactly what we have seen in the West over the last century and a half. Some people say the decay dates back to the Enlightenment. It’s a gradual fading that goes on and on. My fear is that we have landed in a place of moral wilderness.
"For the West to restore itself, it has to rediscover and revive its biblical roots. I insist that the biblical...
