Last week, the S&P 500 abruptly halted its months long grind
higher finishing 1.0% lower while the Dow Jones Industrials
managed a somewhat flattish performance.  The market appears to
be sensing a softening in growth momentum (i.e. compared with
January and February) as the first few March data points (U.S.
manufacturing and non-manufacturing ISMs and ADP/BLS jobs
reports) have printed on the lighter side of expectations.
There is now legitimate fear that fiscal headwinds of tax hikes
and sequester spending cuts could have a larger impact in the
second quarter compared with the first. With that, more red
flags have been unfurled: Italy’s non-government, Cyprus,
Portugal, China, commodity slump, North Korea, Iran and lower
expectations of US growth.  So, where’s the market correction? 
Why have stocks been so stubborn to retrace?  It’s all so
profoundly difficult to understand or reconcile with a market
sitting near all-time nominal highs.  However anxious we may be
for a healthy correction, allow me to prop