In February, I wrote that the decline in stocks was just about over. Why? There was more money available to buy shares than at any time in almost two decades. The $8.85 trillion held in cash, bank deposits and money market funds was equal to 74% of the market value of U.S. companies, the highest ratio since 1990, according to the Federal Reserve.

Wall Street has been debating the huge run-up in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Was March the beginning of a huge rally that will take the market to new highs? Have we witnessed the proverbial “dead-cat bounce?” The prognosticators have been unsure, uncertain and uncommittal about what they see coming next…

Is the crisis really over? Commercial paper spreads have come down dramatically. Libor rates are (hmm – almost) back to normal. Even high yield spreads are narrowing.

“Never in the history of the world has there been a situation so bad that the government can’t make it worse.” -Unknown

USA, General Motors and the state of California all to go Bankrupt

Simple question: how do you invest during an inflationary boom? Today, some concrete ideas. And the simplest idea of them all-when you consider soaring government deficits-is to sell government bonds and buy beaten down, world-class equity.

O! Bama! Whither takest thou us? There are two broad theories concerning the great men of history. One says that history is made by great men. The other says great men are made by history. But here at The Daily Reckoning we think they’re both wrong. In our book, great men don’t really exist. They are merely invented by the historians. History needs heroes. Sometimes tragic heroes… sometimes comic… the historians take what they’ve got to work with and set them spinning. But if you look at their leading characters closely, they look little different from the rest of us… just fellow passengers on the big bus.

Economy got you down? Never fear, Ben Bernanke’s here…Why bear market rally might still have room to run… 1 in 5 homeowners “underwater”… 2 data points suggest the worst is yet to come…As stocks climb, dollar falls… one currency that will continue to outperform the greenback…Chris Mayer on China’s fuel of the future: “It may surprise you”…

We’re comforted by the fact that we’re in good company in our bearish stance. Stansberry and Associates’ Jeff Clark left the party when the S&P 500 crossed over 855. He says there are three brutally bearish sell signals right now:

Euro climbs back to 1.30…  High Yielders bounce back…  Gold to hit $1,500?  Kurt Richebacher… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!