Not a ‘total shock’ if stocks plummet 25% and gold soars 50% by October, says Ron Paul – MarketWatch

The U.S. economy is nowhere near as strong as the prevailing view on Wall Street leads investors to believe. That means a painful stock-market correction could hit as soon as October, according to libertarian firebrand Ron Paul, the medical doctor, former Republican congressman and repeat presidential candidate.

That scenario would land the S&P 500 SPX, +0.23% flirting with 1,800 and gold GCQ7, +0.48% above $1,860 an ounce.

Need to Know: Why investors should brace for a devastating oil shock ahead

Paul is an unabashed bear who has been critical of the Trump administration and more so, the Federal Reserve, who he says has pinned interest rates at historic lows for too long.

Read: Ed Snowden talks with Ron Paul about the deep state and whos really in control

I think its a very precarious market, and the Fed better be very careful. Since they are incapable of knowing what to do, I dont expect much good to come out of anything they do, Paul said in a CNBC Futures Now interview. There are so many mistakes made out there that the correction is almost unlimited.

Mark Hulbert: Heres how hard it is to get out of stocks before a bear market starts

Notably, Paul offered a similar prediction on the business network about a year ago. Since then, the S&P 500 is up more than 20%, while the Dow industrials DJIA, +0.61% is up some 24% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, -0.49% has surged more than 30%, each having knocked out record highs over that stretch.

Safe-haven gold, for its part, has logged a nearly 8% gain so far this year, according to FactSet data tracking futures markets.

Its just such a run that leaves Paul nervous, he countered.

People have been convinced that everything is wonderful right now and that stocks are going to go up forever, Paul said. I dont happen to buy this. The old rules always exist, and theres too much debt and too much mal-investment. The adjustment will have to come.

See the article here:
Not a 'total shock' if stocks plummet 25% and gold soars 50% by October, says Ron Paul - MarketWatch