Bull Market Believers

Veteran money manager Laszlo Birinyi will never forget the moment a year ago when the last ounce of confidence disappeared. New York University Professor Nouriel Roubini and many other prominent pundits were convinced the economy was in free fall, and that the consequences for the stock market would be dire. Birinyi says the 69% gain for the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index since the March 9 low last year is just the beginning of a bull market that may last through the next Presidential election. Another widely respected investor who anticipated the rally, Jeremy Grantham, chief investment strategist for Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo, now believes the market is overvalued. His recommendation to the typical investor would be to think outside the US , Grantham says. The chances of a softening again -- not a big collapse, but a secondary softening in the economy -- are higher than the market believes.