John Mauldin subtitled this week's newsletter, "Collapsing On Schedule". It appears aptly named. And guess what? Mauldin considers himself optimistic. He expects a recovery in late 2009. He is definitely no perma-bear!
"So a P/E of 15 at the stock bottom sounds reasonable, but would put the S&P 500 index at 600 then, down 32% from here and 61% below its record close on Oct. 9, 2007. Wow! .... Last month, the S&P 500 fell below 777. It has since bounced, but probably not for long as new lows lie ahead."
Note: The S&P 500 index closed yesterday at 887.88. A decline to 600, as Mauldin forecasts here, would be an additional 32% decline from yesterday's close.
