Chastened?

I'm starting to see more and more articles like this one pop up. They are almost always light on actual fundamentals for stocks and the economy, and heavy on things like sentiment ("everyone's bearish") and trust in policymakers to keep the printing presses going. Then again, via guarantees, loans, and outright ownership, the Federal Reserve and Treasury essentially constitute the largest hedge fund in the world. What would Madoff have done with a "market up" button? So these writers may be right.

We have stocks going straight up, gold over $1,000, the dollar in the tank, a resurgence in speculation and daytrading (my inbox has been flooded recently with hot tips on penny stocks), leverage and risk-taking on Wall Street trading desks soaring (the firms are now explicitly guaranteed by the government, so why not?), fading interest in regulation and reform, an understanding that any air pocket in the financial markets will be quickly monetized, and the Federal Reserve -- incredibly -- still at zero on the fed funds rate. If you weren't paying attention earlier in the decade and you're wondering how it all happened, look around.