Money Morning: This Chart Warns a Stock Market Crash Is Just Over the Horizon

Article by David Zeiler in Money Morning

With the markets again approaching all-time highs, it's easy to overlook any sign of a stock market crash.

One particularly ominous indicator is the trajectory of the consumer confidence index. The index, measured monthly by the Conference Board think tank, describes consumer attitudes and buying intentions. It's been relatively high over the past year, although it did dip in March from 131.4 to 124.1.

But what we're interested in here is not the month-to-month gyrations of this index, but what it tells us over the long term. And the "big picture" view of the consumer confidence index is clearly pointing to an economic reversal that could trigger a stock market crash.

"The clock is ticking," Deutsche Bank's chief international economist Torsten Slok told Yahoo Finance last month. "Maybe the risk here is that you're actually in a situation where you should be paying attention to these charts and these consumer loans."

To read this article in Money Morning in its entirety, click here.