The Dow: A Word of Caution

This morning, Doug Kass, the manager of Seabreeze Partners, tweeted, "I start the day at my highest net short position of the year." On the face of it, a net short position bears little relevance for an individual investor with a long-term time horizon, but I think it's a useful reminder that, with the Dow (INDEX: ^DJI) and the S&P 500 (INDEX: ^GSPC) having made multiyear highs recently on the back of central-bank largesse, it's worth being cautious, if not fearful, when others are greedy.

And speaking of central-bank largesse, Bloomberg is reporting that Eurozone banks have been growing, rather than shrinking, their balance sheets to $45 trillion at the end of July. (This is, very roughly, twice the size of the U.S. banking system.) James Mackintosh of the Financial Times noted yesterday that the sector is trading at 8.4 times estimated 12-month forward earnings, which happens to be almost exactly where JPMorgan Chase (NYS: JPM) is valued (8.52 times based on yesterday's closing price).

At first glance, something doesn't add up. At the same price tag, I know I'd rather own the best-run (yes, even after the "London Whale" episode) integrated bank in the U.S. than the entire eurozone banking sector. Although JPMorgan shares have snapped back sharply since the depths of the London Whale fiasco, perhaps there is still some value there.

In the same sector, you'll want to look at the institution The Motley Fool's top banking analyst calls "The Only Big Bank Built to Last."

The article The Dow: A Word of Caution originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Alex Dumortier holds no position in any company mentioned. Click here to see his holdings and a short bio; you can follow him @longrunreturns. The Motley Fool owns shares of JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

Copyright © 1995 - 2012 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.