Welcome to the Zondo Financial Markets blog were we discuss all things relating to the global financial markets in a bid to make profit for all our readers. I have been moved to create this blog so that I can be able to share my own inputs as far as stock picking and economic direction is concerned.

I write this at the last week before Christmas and with the Dow Jones having shed 4% and seems to have bottomed. I believe we will see a late December rally that will see the Dow above 18 000 before year end. I also predict the S&P will reach 2075 or 2100 by the end of the year. The next sell off might take place anytime from now, even before the year end.

Investors are not sure if oil prices have bottomed, but I do not see them going down to $45. That $60 mark should be the oil bottom and I predict oil will remain low for a considerable amount of time. Therefore I'm neutral on oil prices for now, neither shorting oil or going long.

With that said, low oil prices will keep the Fed away from raising rates anytime soon as the lower oil prices delays the Fed's 2% inflation target. Stabilized oil prices will also end the bloodbath on a fearful market that sees prices too low as bad for the banking industry that supports oil producers in the United States. I do not see oil prices going further south therefore I do not have those fears. I'd buy bank stocks should they sell off due to those reasons.

If therefore, oil prices remain subdued for the first half of 2015, then corporate profits will sour due to less inputs costs related to energy. That will send the major American indecies to further highs and helps keep this bull market intact and strong.

I do not subscribe to the calls of an impending market crash, however I do recognize the deteriorating fundamentals like deflationary pressures, Russian problems spilling over, corporates not making real investments that generate real growth. In my view, those concerns it seems are no longer left at the mercy of free markets dynamics but are now subjected to Central Banks and governmental interventions. In this era, Central Banks are ever protective of the financial markets as they have seen, through the 2008 global market crash, how a sudden bear market can cripple  many sectors of the economy and society in an ugly manner.

Janet Yellen will save the NYSE for a considerable amount of time, but even she can only do so much. Then maybe in the quite distant future will we see the whole castle thats build on air crushing down like storm. Only then, only then, but not now. We look safe at least for the next two to five years. Corrections will be many along the way but a full market crush is not in the near horizon.

That is it for today, we will take a look at other interesting ideas and markets latter.

by nqobani zondo
nqozondo@gmail.com