Today we want to look at predictions from a slightly different angle - who should we trust when it comes to predictions of the future? Who was right in their predictions for 2022 and who was totally wrong? Let's find out!
Traditionally, let's start with Wall Street.
What did the investment houses forecast for 2022?
By the end of 2021, the value of the S&P500 index reached 4,800 points. The investment houses said the markets would continue to rise.
The investment banks' forecasts for the S&P 500 index for 2022 were as follows:
- The index ended up down 1,000 points for the year, a drop of more than 20 per cent.
- Only two banks were "toxic" pessimists: Bank of America and Morgan Stanley.
They did not guess the magnitude of the fall. But at least they pointed in a downward direction. Morgan Stanley was the closest to the truth out of all the investment houses.
What is the outlook for banks in 2023?
What is BANK OF AMERICA's forecast for 2023
- The main shock of 2023 is a recession. Bank of America strategists believe that for the US, the Eurozone and the UK a recession is "almost inevitable". The rest of the world, apart from China, will also weaken. In the US, the start of a "moderate recession" is expected in the first half of the year. However, as Bank of America writes, "there is a risk that it will start later". The bank strategists thus expect the first half of the year to be good for bond investments and the second half to be interesting for equities. However, this is as far as I understand, if the recession is not delayed, but starts in the first half of the year.
- With China it is different - it will wake up from covid hibernation. But very unevenly. Most restrictions will not be lifted until the second half of the year. Chinese equities are likely to strengthen.
- What about the S&P? Analysts at the bank expect it to end 2023 at 4,000. That is roughly where it is now...
- US rates are expected to fall by the end of 2023 - both two-year and ten-year treasuries should end the year at 3.25%. The industries which suffered from rising rates in 2022 could benefit in 2023.
- After a historically bad year for industrial metals in 2022, cyclical and long-term factors will lead to higher metals prices in 2023, with copper prices rising by around 20%!!!
- Oil, according to Bank of America estimates, will also remain high. Factors that will contribute to this: Russian sanctions (I wonder what they mean by "Russian sanctions" - sanctions against Russian oil or our retaliatory sanctions?), low oil reserves, China opening up and OPEC ready to cut production if demand weakens. The bottom line is that with all these factors, Brent crude will average $100/bbl during 2023 and rise to $110/bbl in the second half of the year.
- Long: 30-year Treasuries, Chinese stocks, gold and silver, bonds, US Small cap, European banks.
- Short: Dollar, US technology sector, private equity.
What is MORGAN STANLEY's forecast for 2023
So, the bank's strategists write: "The general consensus is that corporate profits will start to collapse in early 2023, followed by the stock market. But the economy has proved too resilient". So Morgan Stanley expects earnings to fall slowly - to spite the bears.
In fact they repeat the forecast of Bank of America - they expect a delay in the start of the recession until the second half of the year.
Attitudes towards mega-cap stocks are sceptical. Here's what they write: "At their peak in 2000, the 5 largest tech stocks accounted for 20% of the S&P500 index. These were Microsoft, Cisco Systems, Nokia, Intel and IBM. These same 5 stocks bottomed out 5 years later and already accounted for 5% of the index.
At their peak in 2022, the top 5 companies accounted for 25% of the S&P500. Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Tesla. But are they heading towards 5% of the index now?"
Markets underestimate the risk of recession, stocks could fall another 22%.
By the end of 2023, expect the S&P 500 to be at 3900 - even lower than its current value.
Like Bank of America, predict a rise in Chinese equities. Expect global GDP growth to slow in 2023 as central banks tighten inflationary pressures. The exception is China, where the spring 2023 opening should lead to a significant recovery in economic activity in H2 2023.
What did the Wall Street Gurus predict for 2022?
Many of them said a correction in the stock market was inevitable. But there were those who were wrong.
For example, Buffett's associate Charlie Munger was betting on Alibaba. Those who followed Munger were clearly wrong.
Ray Dalio also bet on China. He also advised to get rid of cache. Wrong too, in fact.
On the other hand, his reasoning was quite lengthy, which is hard to pin down. For example, he did advise buying inflation-linked bonds.
Larry Williams is another prediction outsider. He is a famous trader with 60 years of trading experience. He created a technical indicator, Williams %R, which is used to estimate the overbought and oversold state of the market. A cobbler without boots - he could not estimate the overbought market.
Said that "All markets will rise and be higher than at the beginning of the year, but gold doesn't stand a chance".
Who predicted the 2022 market?
Jim Rogers predicted the problems of 2022
Jim Rogers is Soros' former hedge fund partner Quantum. What did Rogers say?
He said - verbatim - "something bad is going to happen, but I'm not selling anything yet".
Rogers warned that the US market had actually been rising since 2009. It is the longest growth in US history. But the market can't grow forever, which means there must be a rate hike and a downturn in 2022.
Silver, though, has been falling in value for most of the year... That said, it's unclear exactly when Rogers was going to buy silver... Perhaps in this first half of the year's downturn.
In addition to silver, Jim recommended investing in agriculture.
What does he predict for 2023?
Recession, debt crisis, US-European disputes due to energy shortages. Rogers also does not believe in price ceilings and embargoes and believes that Europe will still continue to buy oil and gas from Russia - just in a grey area.
Mark Mobius is another soothsayer of the year
Predicted cryptocurrencies falling in 2022, increased tensions between the US and China and lower markets in general
"Expect the market to decline and don't panic," he said
He also said that India would become the new China.
Mark Mobius - worked for over 30 years at Franklin Templeton Investments, specialising in emerging markets - including Russia. He was even an independent director of LUKOIL. In 2018, he founded his own company.
What does he predict for the year 2023
A word on crypto. Bitcoin, according to Mobius, could collapse 40% to $10,000 in 2023.
"With higher interest rates, the appeal of owning or buying bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies becomes less attractive because simply owning the coin does not generate interest," Mobius said.
"Of course, there have been a few offers with interest rates of 5% or higher for crypto deposits, but many of these companies offering such rates have gone bankrupt in part because of FTX. As these losses grow, people are wary of holding cryptocurrency for the sake of interest."
He is also an advocate of investing in India. He believes it is the Indian equity market that is most interesting in 2023.
Who else has guessed?
Saxo Bank with their crazy forecasts have hit the bullseye this year.
Much of their shocking predictions have come true. They predicted a weakening of the ESG agenda, a drop in Facebook and other mammoth quotes, high inflation, weakening of ties between China and the US, and a new Cold War.
We already talked about what they predicted for 2023 in one of the videos.
The Rothschilds also got it right with their magazine The Economist. Remember the weird cover showing bitcoin and other assets falling down the rabbit hole. Now let's take a closer look at their covers.