Let's face it, this rally has BLOWN AWAY all historical patterns. At this point in the cycle, before a trough in unemployment you usually get a 20% rally AND NOT A 50% rally in equities like we have! Once again, this goes to show that you CANNOT trade the stock market off of economic "fundamentals". You can "cut and paste" one bearish article after another on the economy ( or as Lucrum does, one Obama bashing post after another), but the FACT of the matter is that if you have been short for the past 50, 100, 200, 300 or 350 S&P points you have been absolutely CRUSHED and have no more money left to trade with. It is a liquidity story. Always has been. Period.
The inflation adjusted earnings chart looks scary. However, stocks aren't quoted in inflation adjusted terms. I'd imagine many stock charts would look similar when adjusted for inflation.
The biggest surprise today is the FACT that the U.S. Dollar is going to the MOON and putting upward pressure on rates, and yet the S&P couldn't care less. The Bears always thought that a rally in the Dollar would TANK crude and the S&P. Surprisingly, it's not happening today. Julie Andrews is literally singing "Christmas Carols" right now.
You could have just said "it's different this time" I never have. I can only aspire to be as big of an arrogant, presumptuous, know it all as you are.
The start of a "The US is ahead in the recovery cycle"? Who knows. Thus far, every bit of positive news out of the US drove the dollar further down. As capital was looking for "growth" outside of the US, in risky assets. The riskier the better. Not so today.