Krugman and El-Erian in the Valley of FUD

In his excellent book, “When Markets Collide”, PIMCO chief Mohammed El-Erian writes about the journey and the destination that the global economy and markets are undergoing and puts in context and helps clarifies much of the current economic and financial chaos. Mr. El-Erian describes a world that will be but is clear to note that the process of getting there may be “bumpy”.

Nobel laureate Paul Krugman points to the same concept in his blog posting yesterday (“After the Stimulus”) in which he lists the components of the US economy for 2007 and their averages from 1979 to 2007. As the accompanying table from his blog shows, the economic mix of the US economy got to be quite imbalanced primarily due to credit inspired high consumption levels by the US consumer. In the process, net exports became the counterbalancing force*.

As El-Erian declares in his book, a transformational world (economic and financial) is inevitable and has been underway for some time (long before the current credit and now economic crisis). And Krugman states, “Consumption probably isn’t going back to a 2007 share of GDP — savings are back. So what will fill the gap, once the stimulus is gone? Housing? Not for a long time. Business investment? Hard to see why. The natural thing would be to trade lower consumption for a smaller trade deficit.”

It is logical to assume that the US economy will experience two mega trends in the coming years:

• US consumer spending will fall while US consumer savings rise (aided by the baby boomers’ need to provide for their retirement years now that the wealth effect has gone kaput)
• Net exports will improve as global growth, particularly in emerging markets, continues to expand (certainly relative to developed economies)

It is also likely that non-residential investments (capex) will move closer to their average as corporations retool to meet the global export opportunities while government spending will increase as the US government seeks to stabilize the US economy (large fiscal deficits and other government programs like TARP).

Investment Strategy Implications

The bottom line for those investors willing to look beyond the valley of FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) that we are currently wallowing in is to position their portfolios (what’s left of them) to exploit these mega trends. To follow this direction, however, requires context, perspective, and perseverance – something sorely lacking in a panic stricken financial climate.

*table contents
C = Consumer
N = Non residential investment (capex)
R = Residential investment (housing)
G = Government expenditures
NX = Net exports (exports minus imports)