The end of every year brings the desire to recount the good and the bad of the year ending and look forward to the year about to begin. It is natural to think is those terms, this period is ending and the next beginning. But, the market doesn’t do that. The market is always looking forward to the next thing. Most of us are just now beginning to think about the new year, but the market has been looking toward it (and the next one) for a long time. Unless something really surprising happens, the market already has a pretty good notion of what is going to happen next year. Generally, the notion is that next year will be a pretty benign period for the world, the various economies and most markets. It may not be all that great for bonds, but it should be pretty good for stocks, commodities and maybe even property. That is why we’re setting new recovery highs all the time these days. Read more