Climbing the Wall of Worry

When we went around the table and listed the things that we were most grateful for this year, I included the stock market. Financial matters are not as important as our health, families, or friends, but they do make a difference in well-being. And for us (largely) retired folk, our ability to recover from setbacks is limited, so we're indeed grateful that we've dodged the bullet this time.

Whether or not one is glum about the economy, COVID-19, or politics, the markets signal that the clouds are lifting.

Upbeat trial results for coronavirus vaccines developed by Moderna Inc. and the duos of Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE and AstraZeneca PLC and the University of Oxford are reordering the market’s winners and losers, prompting wagers that the U.S. economy will return to normal more quickly than anticipated.

2021 is just around the corner. Hang on tight, we've almost made it.