Why the crazy upward march in stock prices might just continue
Several things could get in the way of a market melt-up. But on a closer look, none seem all that formidable
IN A FAST-CHANGING world, the investment bankers of Wall Street and the City of London have clung to certain rituals. One of these is the annual “outlookâ€, which lays out the path the economy and financial markets might take over the coming year. These hefty documents start to appear in inboxes a few weeks before the year's end.
In mid-November a strategist at one bank had just put his outlook to bed with satisfaction. His call on stocks for 2021 was “constructiveâ€: Wall-Street-speak for “bullish, but not mindlessly soâ€. But a few days later he was feeling a little less pleased with himself. His outlook was not distinctive. Rival strategists too were constructive.