At around 4,516 (today the S&P closed at 4,259) the S&P 500 is priced at 18.86x forward earnings. As seen below, the 20-year average is 16.77x, and 20.07x would represent a full standard deviation above average. The earnings per share forecast is about $240 for the S&P in 2024 as seen in the chart below….
Category: Markets
On August 1, Fitch, a credit ratings agency, downgraded the U.S. debt from AAA (the highest rating) to AA+. Fitch had warned of a possible downgrade during the debt ceiling crisis earlier this year and has sounded alarms since 2011 when a similar crisis occurred. Most do not see the downgrade as meaningful, AA+ still…