Visited Walmart this weekend and overheard several conversations among shoppers about bargains. Meanwhile, credit unions are offering 2.9% auto financing on used cars to get consumers on the lot. Businesses continue to say their markets are as bad as ever and they're just trying to tough it out.
Meanwhile, the VIX is near recent lows, equity fund manager cash balances near all-time lows, and NASDAQ and the Russell 2000 (small cap stocks) are leading equities YTD. Yet, bond managers are near all-time cash balance highs.
Are we waiting for another shoe to drop, like fixed income managers, as consumers continue to tighten their finances? or are we on the leading edge of a recovery, as equity investors apparently believe, led by something other than consumers?
