What A Long, Strange Road It’s Been

With the Christmas holiday, just days away, and New Year’s just around the corner, I am amazed at how quickly this year has passed. I am even more amazed at the events that have unfolded over this last year. 2016 is turning out to be not only a transitional year, but also a transformative year.

Think of it this way: if you had been told at the beginning of the year that this year’s presidential election would result in Donald Trump being elected as the 45^th president of the United States, you would have probably filed that statement in a folder labeled, “obscure and highly improbable beliefs”.

If you were told that this outcome would fuel one of the greatest US equities rally in history, taking the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Standard & Poor’s 500, and the NASDAQ indexes to new, all-time record highs, you would probably have filed that statement in the same folder.

Furthermore, if you were told that within hours of President-elect Donald Trump winning the election, safe haven assets, specifically gold, would go into a free-fall, losing about $200 in value from its high achieved the evening of the election, to current pricing, you would probably have filed that statement under, “conspiracy theories or absolute quackery.”

Sometimes the truth does ring stranger than fiction, and that statement can certainly apply to the events that have occurred this year.

Uncharted Territory

The truth of the matter is that the above-mentioned facts did occur this year and we are now faced with some undeniable facts

First, it is not business as usual. 2017 promises to bring about transformative change. What that change will look like is the real question we must ask ourselves. We should be intensely cognizant of the fact that we are in uncharted territory.

It is that uncharted territory, and potential outcome, that causes many analysts to be alarmed as they ponder the possibilities of events that could arise from President-elect Trump’s unique style of leadership.

Our President-elect certainly has the ability to initiate policies that could greatly enhance and benefit its citizens. But, he also has the ability to put the global geopolitical outlook in pure crisis mode.

Even before his inauguration, his quick, unfiltered twitter responses to global events gained attention.

He still continues to tweet petty and vindictive statements about those he believes have wronged him. He continues to disregard intelligence reports about Russian hacking, probably viewing this as a partisan move to discredit the recent election results.

Even more alarming is his recent, and contradictory, tweets in regard to the seizing of a US Navy drone in international waters.  While it is one thing to go after individuals, it is quite another thing to go after a sovereign nation.

It is my hope that next year will bring about incredible prosperity, renewed economic growth, and less geopolitical confrontation. But more so, it is my hope that, come January 20, as President-elect Trump takes the oath of office, the magnitude of his new position transforms his underlying mindset so that he can effectively do the job he was elected to do.

Inasmuch as 2016 could be remembered as an extremely transitional and transformative year, next year promises to be more interesting as we enter a new era in uncharted territory.

Wishing you as always, good trading,