Bigworld and Scstocks,
Well it does appear that the markets can go up indefinitely without so much as a reasonable and necessary correction. I am severely trounced on my short and triple bear plays. Way too deep to consider a full recovery. I must say this appears more of a wide awake bull market than a secular bear. Unless there is further civil unrest in the middle east and/or a sort of world wide cataclysmic event, I can't see this thing turning over. Earnings and forecasts seem in line for continuing uptrend. I have to say BW, I think we were faked out of shorts here regardless of how you feel about the instability of a Quantitively Eased economy consisting of an endless supply of newly printed greenbacks. I'm done chasing the doomsdayers on this one. Interest rate hikes and rational inflation seems near but I don't think so much so that it will freeze consumer confidence and spending.
Good news though, I made a briefcase full on my hometown Packers throughout the playoffs and SuperBowl and had a great time doing it. So I guess all could be worse. You have got to love Aaron Rodgers...he is the real deal and a class act.
I must say from a retail standpoint however, things are still pretty lethargic and from visiting Vegas twice over the past four weeks, they don't seem to be near full recovery either. This could all be signs of a more frugal and savings oriented consumer created by the recent recession which is not necessarily a bad thing. In my mind, this economic thaw will take several more years to get this country anywhere near the growth rate it experienced half a decade ago.
