Stock markets: Discounting mechanism

All of a sudden, it’s a bull market. The Dow Jones Industrial Index has risen by 21% since March 9, just crossing the traditional 20% threshold that some chart-watchers use to separate a mere rally from the real thing, But this three-week old may not live to a ripe age. The previous Dow rally started after the November 2008 rescue of Citigroup, lasted until the New Year and came a mere 0.8 percentage points short of qualifying as a bull market – before yielding to a 28% rout. The current recover...