Economy booming? Maybe a dead cat bounce.

[Spungo]

This feels like a correction. The market was hot last year.

It could quickly turn into a crash if people start getting margin calls since we're once again at a record high level of margin debt.
Another risk is the reversal of the yen carry trade. People around the world borrow in yen to invest in US stocks. This works great as long as the yen loses value against the dollar. It can quickly turn into a disaster if the yen rises, which it has in the past week.

 

[shortylickens]

I am a selfish man.
For me the economy is a mess until I get a job. Then its OK.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

This feels like a correction. The market was hot last year.

I suspect this is the case though should it correct to the point it hits 14,500, I will shift all my mutual fund holdings to the stable fund offered by the company.

 

[Engineer]

This is going to be a hell year for the economy and stocks, and it wont end until 2016-2018.

If it were to be the case, why would it stop there? Other countries stepping in and buying the US companies? It certainly won't be because the US middle class consumers suddenly found better paying jobs and started the consumer economy up again.

Market and economy was propped up by another bubble...the only way that we've been able to move forward (if you call it that) for nearly 2 decades now. That bubble is now deflating and down we go again........Geronimoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[shady28]

This feels like a correction. The market was hot last year.

I think you're wrong, I think the "hot" market was a correction "up" within a larger downtrend. And it's turning back in on itself.

Those who look at employment numbers need to keep in mind, besides the rigged nature of employment numbers, they are a trailing indicator. Economic activity turns up before employment does, and turns down before employment declines.


http://finance.yahoo.com/news/goldman-explains-economic-weakness-spread-185315938.html

""Our Global Leading Indicator now suggests that the period of accelerated growth ended in September of 2013," he writes.

"The ensuing four months of 'Slowdown' — positive but sequentially declining global growth — reduced the monthly rate of growth to a half, from around 0.40% per month to 0.20% per month.""

 

[shady28]

If it were to be the case, why would it stop there? Other countries stepping in and buying the US companies? It certainly won't be because the US middle class consumers suddenly found better paying jobs and started the consumer economy up again.

Market and economy was propped up by another bubble...the only way that we've been able to move forward (if you call it that) for nearly 2 decades now. That bubble is now deflating and down we go again........Geronimoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Economies / markets never just go in one direction. Declines are faster and shorter in duration than rises. Three steps forward, two steps back kind of thing. Dow noticed this kind of thing - there are 3 up legs to a bull market and 2 down legs to a bear. Each individual leg also subdivides in a similar way.

I tend to believe in market cycles, and I think we're in the last third of a downward move that started in 2001. Since this cycle is 15-20 years, it could last until 2021.