Less Miserable

(1) Bears are the bull market’s Les Misérables. (2) Tracking misery during good times and bad. (3) Falling (rising) unemployment is unambiguously good (bad) for stocks. (4) Fed’s 6.5% target for jobless rate is bullish for stocks. (5) Relationship between stocks and inflation is more ambiguous. (6) Fed’s goal of boosting inflation is also bullish for stocks. (7) Drop in Misery Index since 2009 could boost P/Es some more. (8) Earnings season is a bore so far, yet forward earnings are exciting stocks. (9) Global oil demand confirms slow pace of global growth. (10) Focus on underweight-rated S&P 500 Energy.