While investors fret over D.C. brinkmanship as the government gets closer and closer to the debt ceiling, "Dr. Doom" Marc Faber has other concerns on his mind.
"I think the markets will move according other events rather than what is happening in Washington," Faber said Tuesday on CNBC's "Futures Now."
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Specifically, the publisher of the Gloom Boom & Doom Report newsletter warns of disappointing earnings, deteriorating technicals, and a decline in consumer confidence.
Earnings will disappoint
As companies start to report their third quarter earnings, Faber is getting nervous.
"We're coming into earnings season, and the earnings are likely to disappoint," Faber said.
And because earnings will be weaker than investors anticipate, "the market is not cheap anymore, according to different valuation methods," Faber said.
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Indeed, the S&P 500's price-to-earnings ratio, the most commonly used valuation metric, has risen from 17 to more than 19 over the course of 2013.
Technicals are concerning
And because stocks are getting more expensive, "the returns over the next five to 10 years will be very moderate," Faber said.
Faber is a close watcher of technical indicators. And when he looks at the S&P right now, "the technical are concerning," he said.
Faber is concerned about the breadth of the rally.
"There are very few stocks that are making new highs," Faber said. "The majority of stocks have been moving sideways to down over the last six months. Some stocks, like IBM, are no higher than they were in 2011."
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It is a concern that has also been raised by Oppenheimer Chief Market Technician Carter Worth, who recently said on "Options Action": "Breadth is deteriorating, and it's been deteriorating for months. … This is a divergence that is not good. And it speaks to fewer and fewer stocks participating."
Consumer confidence will decline
While Faber doesn't worry much about the direct ramifications of the shutdown and the debt ceiling debate, he does think that it will chip away at the willingness of consumers to spend.
"With what is going on, consumer confidence is going to weaken further," Faber said. "Any common sense man, he looks at Congress, he sees a completely dysfunctional or nonfunctional government, he's not going to rush out and buy goods."
He also makes the point that the average consumer has not been greatly helped by the Federal Reserve's asset purchasing program, even though stock prices have been.
"The money that was printed by the Fed has flown to 5 percent of the population, maximum," Faber said.
All in all, Faber admits that "the U.S. Congress depresses me." But it's earnings, market breadth, and consumer confidence that actually have him concerned.
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