Many chartered financial analysts are throwing cold water on the idea of a prosperous new year, predicting Europe's sovereign-debt crisis will worsen and stocks to be a less-than-stellar investment.
via online.wsj.com
It is difficult to see the catalyst, in the near term, for better financial market performance at least until the "market" makes it's call regarding the US Presidential election. Markets tend to discount forward expectations so that decision could be made months in advance of the November 2012 election.
On the other side, viewed from a contrarian perspective, such negative sentiment can be seen as sign of potentially stronger markets going forward. Given the negative sentiment, an "unexpected" surprise would be more likely to be a positive surprise and thus beneficial for markets.
How you perceive and use the article's info depends on your inclination (contrarian?) and risk tolerance.
