That recession everyone feared just got priced out by a record stock rally

Very big years in markets rarely come right before recessions

Should American investors, $6 trillion richer after the stock market’s best year in six, take shelter now, convinced a reckoning is at hand and the good times won’t last? As far as earnings, the economy and equities themselves are concerned, the answer is no.

Or at least, not necessarily. Past performance isn’t always indicative of future results. But if you’re looking at the size of this year’s gains and deciding they somehow doom 2020 to being a disaster, history suggests a more nuanced approach is called for.

Good stretches in stocks are not usually followed by bad ones. When the