Another day, another crisis averted. Phew!
In case you were out and about or weren't glued to your Twitter feed at approximately 8:00 am eastern time Tuesday, comments made by Russian President Vladimir Putin were the source of a second straight up on Wall Street. Within minutes of Putin saying he does not have an interest in acquiring any more Ukrainian territory, stock futures went from red to green. And just like that, the latest crisis appears to have been put to bed.
Okay, to be fair, that may be a bit of an oversimplification of the situation in Russia/Ukraine/Crimea. Remember, next week the G-7 is meeting to discuss what they are going to do about 96 percent of a region wishing to return to Mother Russia. And there is little doubt that there will be plenty of tersely worded statements, some sanctions, and maybe even an ultimatum or two. Remember, politicians hate to waste a good crisis!
Getting back to the stock market, the S&P has spurted higher this week and is within a stone's throw of a new all-time high. But it is important to recognize that the venerable index may not home free just yet. You see, our furry friends in the bear camp are quick to point out that there is some resistance overhead on the charts, that this thing in Crimea probably isn't over, and oh yea, China is likely to become to be a problem - and soon.
Insert Eye Roll Here
If you wound up rolling your eyes at that last sentence, join the club. Yes, the current bull market is growing older by the minute. Sure, Crimea, China, the Fed, the economy, or anything else for that matter, could easily become the next real problem for the market. And it is true ...
