Valuation with Open Eyes

But did you know
That when it snows
My eyes become large
And the light that you shine can be seen
--Seal

Fine weekly note by John Hussman. Particularly noteworthy was the 'Valuation Review' section. I continue to view John's work on general market valuation as among the best.

Note the graph that plots projected 10 year projected annual return of the SPX versus current SPX price level. Today's level of about 1200 projects to about 5 1/2% annualized.

To achieve projected returns corresponding to the oft cited 10% historical returns of stocks would require the SPX to be at about 800.

As Dr J observes, those rare secular buying opportunities (e.g., circa 1982), those that correspond to single digit P/Es and 6-8% dividend yields correspond to an SPX of 400.

John notes that while this may seem 'utterly ridiculous,' historical evidence suggests otherwise.

position in SPX