Public retirement systems across the country are suffering from a “slate of problems” that the bull market has failed to repair. This according to an article in The Wall Street Journal. The article reports that “liabilities of major U.S. public pensions are up 64% since 2007 while assets are up 30%, according to the most recent data from Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research.” The following factors are cited: The dot-com bust of the 2000s… Read More
The bull run that followed the 2008 financial crisis is widely considered the greatest of the past century, but according to an article in The New York Times, “despite the superlatives, this rally’s primary characteristic is how much skepticism it generated.” The article points out that the rally of the past decade has not reached the “intensity of gains that defined the stock market bubbles of the 1920s and 1990s.” Instead, it explains, many investors… Read More
A recent Bloomberg article claims that individual investors are making professional traders “nervous” this year. “Small investors’ recent interest in stock picking stands in contrast to the long-term trend in a bull market that’s more than nine years old,” the article says, adding that professional traders are “trying to make sense of a market that’s psychologically edgy.” Among traders, it explains, the adage to “buy the dip” has flipped into using any rise in the… Read More
A recent article in The Wall Street Journal recalls the adage that bull markets don’t die of old age. “Nine years into an extraordinary run for U.S. stocks, it’s easy to buy into the idea that the only things that can halt the market are a recession or the Federal Reserve.” But this statement, it argues, “is only half right,” adding that “with the economy now appearing to be in the last phase of the… Read More
In a recent Bloomberg column, Barry Ritholtz shares insights on what he characterizes as the distinct differences between bear market recoveries and bull markets, arguing that while March 9, 2009 was a bear market bottom, “we only know that with the benefit of hindsight.” Looking at the “spectacular gains” the market has seen since 2009, Ritholtz argues, “creates a very misleading picture. It ignores the collective psychology of the time—lots of investors back in March… Read More
The U.S. bull market, which turned nine on March 9th, is still showing momentum, despite the fact that it has been called the “most hated rally ever,” according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal. The article reports that the “epic” run for U.S. stocks has seen the S&P 500 more than quadruple, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gain 280% and the Nasdaq Composite surge by 486%. And even as concerns about pricey… Read More
In a recent USA Today article, famed investor Ken Fisher offered advice on how to discern between a bear market and a bull market “blip”: Referring to the market dip that occurred earlier this month, Fisher advises, “If you’re fully invested, sit on your hands. Hard! For cash holders this action prescribes buying. Always stay cool. Fight any urge to sell. It’s all signaling more new highs ahead.” Bull markets, says Fisher, “don’t end this… Read More
Nuveen’s chief equity strategist Bob Doll says the global stock market should continue to rise despite risks, according to his recent Barron’s article. Doll argues that investor confidence has increased with respect to corporate earnings and the global economy and that, although volatility may rise, equities should outperform bonds and cash in the year ahead. Inflation, he says, remains “well contained in most major markets outside of the United Kingdom,” and that investors are banking… Read More
As the stock market continues to climb and some investors think about pulling back, Laszlo Birinyi is “going in the opposite direction, placing more bullish trades on the S&P 500,” according to a recent article in Business Insider. The investing legend, the article says, argues that “ample cash remains on the sidelines, waiting to be deployed,” adding that “as stocks continue to show strong fundamentals, such as earnings growth, traders will continue to find excuses… Read More
A recent article in Bloomberg outlines the viewpoints of a group of strategists and investors (with supporting data graphs) regarding to what degree the current bull run may have staying power. Here are a few: George Pearkes, of Bespoke Investment Group shares concern for the “decline in, and volatility of, spreads on securitized debt,” using the example of auto asset-backed securities today versus before the financial crisis. Before the crisis, he says, they traded in… Read More
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