Don't Worry, Be Bullish

From Barron's

"Not only did large depositors in Cyprus have to take a haircut, but Cyprus became a roach motel where cash could come in but couldn't get out."

Up and Down Wall Street | SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 2013

Don't Worry, Be Bullish
By RANDALL W. FORSYTH 

The broad market was up 11% this quarter, brushing off fears of the fiscal cliff, sequestration, crisis in Europe or a myriad of other threats. And the biggest winners may surprise you.

It can't get much better than this. Even dear old Dr. Pangloss scarcely could have written a better script for the stock market than what actually occurred in the first quarter.

In true melodramatic fashion, 2013 got off to a scary start as we seemed about to hurtle over the fiscal cliff -- only to avoid crashing into the abyss in the wee hours of New Year's Day. Then came sequestration on March 1, a term few could define let alone understand before that date. The dreaded Ides of March this time brought a crisis in the tiny Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus, which appeared to subside by the quarter's end.

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Student Debt Goes Against the Grain in Q1

Student Debt Goes Against the Grain in Q1
The economy roars / but don't tell that to students / knee-high in school loans
By Alyssa Oursler, InvestorPlace Editorial Assistant  |  Apr 1, 2013, 1:26 pm EDT
 
Look left and right, and you’ll see plenty of evidence that the worst for the economy might just be over.

Today’s manufacturing data, for one, might have been disappointing, but activity in the sector is still expanding. Retail sales remained strong even in the face of the payroll tax hike, higher gas prices and the dreaded sequester, and the stock market burst out of the gate in 2013. During the past three months, the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 both hit all-time highs despite over-the-pond debt woes and other headwinds.

But those are just the headlines. And besides the fact that a spring selloff seems likely, there’s another reality we must face: Things sure aren’t getting better for all Americans. There’s at least one area where an improving economy can’t seem to make a dent: student debt — the only kind of household debt that continued to rise through the Great Recession.

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