Game Over Equity Bears

Not quite over the finish line for Nasdaq and the Russell 2000 yet, but close. The bear market has moved into commodities and that's "bullish" for stocks in a world where the trade-weighted average holding period is probably measured in days at best. Is the bear market over? Hardly. If there was a chart of the fundamental value of stocks, it would be making new lows daily. Fundamentals don't matter in the short- or intermediate-term though. Also, while I don't expect a big rally this year, the 1970s show stocks can churn with 50 percent swings up and down, but still relentlessly bleed value because of inflation. There is no rescue for the stock market except the low growth, deflationary condition that allows unrestrained QE. Which comes with more unemployment, deaths of despair, political violence in the West and so on.