Topic: How To Invest

What is Pat’s commentary for the week of March 26, 2013?

Article Excerpt

When I step back from looking at the market’s day-to-day fluctuations, and instead try to figure out where stock prices might go in the next five or 10 years and beyond, I feel increasingly optimistic. For one thing, the stock market has generally been going sideways or making little progress for much of the past 10 or 15 years. You might say the market mainly stayed within a wide trading range in that time—up in some years, down in others. But starting from the low point of spring 2009, stock prices have generally gone up. They’ve risen in a jagged pattern, and the start of every downturn sparked a burst of pessimism. But after each downturn, the market eventually regained its footing. It then went on to a new, higher peak, above the level where the previous downturn began. These lengthy sideways phases have happened in the past. In the end, they always gave way to a new rise that carried prices…