Laszlo Birinyi does some really interesting analysis. More important, he has this strange, grainy voice that's fun to listen to -- catch him on Wall $treet Week or whatever Louis Rukeyser's new show is called, if you haven't heard him talk before.

Below is a chart of his which is pretty neat. It's similar to the "recession" keyword search chart that I posted ages ago. Only look to buy stocks when instances of "bear market" are greater than instances of "bull market" in the popular press. As the saying goes: You gotta buy 'em when they ain't.

On another note, I read the following in a recent Deutsche Bank report: In the five year period between March 1997 and March 2002 a portfolio fully invested in the S&P 500 Index would have returned 62%. If the portfolio were not invested on the ten best days of the period, the return would have been just 5.5%. If the portfolio were out of the market during the best thirty days, the return would have been -41.6%. The lesson is clear: time the market at your peril!

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