Read This Story: Does a "Lehman-Like Shock" Lie Ahead? Bear markets are always surprises. If we saw them coming, everyone would be prepared for them. But the bull market can continue simply because of TINA - There Is No Alternative to Stocks, especially large-cap U.S. stocks. Corporate earnings growth is projected to come in at a negative number in the second quarter, after negative growth in the first. Two consecutive quarters of negative earnings growth represents an "earnings recession." Assess the state of corporate earnings in the last half of 2019. Earnings are expected to decline this quarter as well, so we could see three consecutive seasons of year-over-year earnings contractions. The last earnings recession was actually in 2016, not that long ago. And stocks managed that period without a bear market. Earnings really aren't very important because they are determined by accountants. Some readers will remember Enron, a company that grew earnings at an incredible pace in the 1990s but was a gigantic fraud. Earnings were manufactured by accountants, and some went to jail for their role in that story. Despite earnings, Enron never generated cash flow from operations (CFO). Companies don't use earnings to grow. They use CFO to reinvest in operations, make acquisitions or reward shareholders with dividends or buybacks. And CFO is growing, which means the upward momentum in stock prices can continue based on fundamentals. And yet valuations are high. How long can this contradiction last between negative earnings growth and high multiples? The CFO yield on the S&P 500 is about 6.3%, which means companies are earning adequate after-inflation returns on their investments, especially when yields on 10-year Treasuries are at record lows under 1.7%. P/E ratios are high, but not high when real interest rates are considered. Ben Graham, Warren Buffett's business school professor, said we need to consider real interest rates when evaluating P/E ratios. When rates are low, as they are now, P/E ratios should be high. Graham's methods indicate P/E ratios above 40 are appropriate in this current environment. Graham didn't use the word TINA but his teachings point to the reality that with low rates, stocks can go much higher. The current contradiction between earnings and high multiples can last for years, especially since the relationship isn't very important. I know my opinion on that differs from what traditional analysts believe. You served with U.S. military intelligence, so I'd like your thoughts about growing geopolitical risks. Which hot spot should worry investors the most? I'm watching India. Just last week the Indian government took steps to reorganize India's only Muslim-majority Kashmiri state. Kashmir is now on a virtual lock-down and tensions are mounting. Kashmiris worry that the move is driven by the Hindu nationalist agenda of Prime Minister Modi. They are worried for good reason because this action will almost certainly lead to Hindu integration in Kashmir. This seems like an obscure problem. But Pakistan supports Kashmir. Pakistan seems to be moving troops towards its border with India. That creates two concerns. First, those troops are moving away from the border with Afghanistan which makes it easier for terrorists to move in the region and increases the risk of terror attacks around the world. This comes as peace talks in Afghanistan reach a critical point and a draw-down of U.S. troops is possible. An uncontrolled border with Pakistan could create chaos. Second, Pakistan and India have fought over this region for years. The most recent shooting conflict occurred earlier this year. Since 1989, an estimated 47,000 have been killed in conflict between the two countries with another 3,400 missing. This conflict is the reason both countries pursued nuclear weapons and it is why they keep nukes pointed at each other. Based on my understanding, neither country has the level of control over weapons that we see in other nuclear countries. Right now, we have nuclear powers staring each other down while terrorists are increasing their freedom of movement in the region. And the story is on page 5 of The New York Times because page 1 is devoted to news about a sex offender and random insights from the Iowa Kernel Poll. This crisis is a potential black swan. Everyone knows there are problems in other places and those problems are priced into markets. Kashmir is below the radar for now and more serious than many others. It's a complex and volatile region where problems follow unpredictable paths. My second choice is Argentina which could be headed to a default on its government debt. This is a good example of how no one sees problems coming. In June 2017, a little more than two years ago, Argentina sold 100-year bonds at 7.9%. Since independence in 1816, Argentina defaulted on debt eight times, most recently in 2002. Yet, investors bought 100-year bonds at a rate less than many U.S. companies offered at the time. Some analysts say that tit-for-tat tariffs between the U.S. and China will eventually push the global economy off a cliff. What's your view? This is a problem and that's why the Trump administration delayed tariffs this week. I'm certain it's a coincidence that the delay was announced a couple hours after the CPI data showed the problems I mentioned earlier. I expect this problem to cool down. China has enough to worry about with a slowing economy and protests in Hong Kong. The slowing economy is the big problem for the country. Keeping people employed is a primary concern for China's leadership and a trade war doesn't create jobs. I believe China will be patient at this point. They know there is a U.S. election about 15 months away and there is a chance that everything could change after that. Rather than risking further problems, I expect them to stall for time. This at least delays the crisis. Editor's Note: I've just interviewed Amber Hestla, who provided insights that are valuable for all types of investors. But she's not the only colleague at Investing Daily with an uncanny ability to pick winning investments. Which brings me to Jim Fink. Jim Fink [pictured] is chief investment strategist of the elite trading services Options For Income, Velocity Trader, and Jim Fink's Inner Circle. He has agreed to show 500 smart investors how his "paragon" trading system could help them earn 2,500% in just one year. Paragon is a proprietary program created by Jim after years of trial-and-error. 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