Call It the 'Rodney Dangerfield Rally'
Supervising Producer for “The Kudlow Report”
"I don't get no respect. I joined Gambler's Anonymous. They gave me two to one I don't make it." –Rodney Dangerfield
At the Kudlow Report, we're calling this continuing stock rally the "Rodney Dangerfield/no respect rally.
Why?
Because with new five-year highs being hit almost daily the last week or so, we're not hearing much cheering from the investment world.
And outside of CNBC and the business-news section, you're not hearing anything at all.
You'll hear it now: The S&P 500 is up about 13% from a year ago. The Nasdaq also up 13% from a year ago. The Dow is up a respectable 8% since this date in 2012.
This rally has solid reasoning behind it: low interest rates and strong profits are making this happen. And those factors are drowning out darker clouds like growing government debt and the strong prospect of four more years of rancor in Washington.
But like the Rodney Dangerfield quote above, it seems like the odds makers are giving 2-to-1 that stocks will eventually fall off.
What do stocks need to do to finally get some positive press on the front page?
Crossing the 14,000 mark on the Dow would probably do it, and we're just 288 points away from there right now. Another big inflow of money into stock funds like we saw in the first full week of January could do it, too.
But with millions of potential Main Street investors still licking their emotional wounds after the stock implosion of 2008, don't be surprised if this rally remains in stealth mode for a good while longer.
—Where Washington and Wall Street collide: Tune in to "The Kudlow Report" at 7pm ET weekdays. Follow "The Kudlow Report" on Twitter at @TheKudlowReport.
