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The 90-Year-Old Bear © 2003, John H. Farr That's the financial, not the furry kind. And go ahead and scoff. I have it coming. But what Bill Fleckenstein's current "Contrarian Chronicles" column at MSNBC has to say about Sir John Templeton's take on the "broken" stock market and housing prices he says could dip to ten percent of where they are is satisfactorily scary reading for anyone who's bothered by this country's $31 trillion debt. (Eek!) The rest of you, just get on with your business. After all, I've waited 30 years for this to happen, and all it's gotten me is no Lexus SUV or farmhouse in Provence. Anway, here's a sample:

Moving on to housing prices, Sir John comments: "Every previous major bear market has been accompanied by a bear market in home prices. . . . This time, home prices have gone up 20%, and this represents a very dangerous situation. When home prices do start down, they will fall remarkably far. In Japan, home prices are down to less than half what they were at the stock market peak." Sir John adds, "A home price decline of as little as 20% would put a lot of people in bankruptcy." Sir John also had a few words about debt -- a four-letter word that folks seem not to care about: "Emphasize in your magazine how big the debt is. . . . The total debt of America is now $31 trillion. That is three times the GNP of the U.S. That is unprecedented in a major nation. No nation has ever had such a big debt as America has, and it's bigger than it was at the peak of the stock market boom. Think of the dangers involved. Almost everyone has a home mortgage, and some are 89% of the value of the home (and yes, some are more). If home prices start down, there will be bankruptcies, and in bankruptcy, houses are sold at lower prices, pushing home prices down further." On that note, he has a word of advice: "After home prices go down to one-tenth of the highest price homeowners paid, then buy."

[FarrFeed]

Google. Go to google, type in "miserable failure," and click "I'm Feeling Lucky."... [The Daily Irrelevant]