US Stock Market: STILL A Lost Decade.

Excuse me for noticing (again) but the recent stock market advances off 12 year lows are all the way up to . . . still a lost decade.

Last year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was kicking around index levels last seen in 1997.



Right now, after a 50% rally, it is STILL kicking around index levels from a decade ago.




If you had your money in a CD ladder, you would have beaten the Dow for the last 10 years. Some of us didn't even know (or care) what the DJIA was a decade ago. A lot of that same group of people realized that "it only goes up!" and dumped everything they had into stocks. Almost without exception, they are now less-wealthy than they started out.

Good job with the economy, federal government! It's really going great!

I just won't point out that, in light of world circumstances, we are at the top of an unreasonably high stock market right now. There is nothing but "investor sentiment" and "what else should we do with our clients' money?" -type traders keeping the stock and equity markets up right now. When the double-dip comes, remember you heard it here first: "Unexpected" is going to be in a lot of headlines because reporters and "experts" don't necessarily know what they are talking about.