Believe it or not… welcome to the new bull market. Calculating from the depths of the November spike down (741.02) the S&P 500 has now rallied 20%+. Which means that technically, we are now in a very young bull market. The bear market lasted around 408 days and cut the index by more than half (52%).

Whether it survives to become a powerful bull or dies stillborn as merely an especially strong counter rally, is another question. One that at the moment no one can truly answer. But we’re seeing more and more signs that things look ok:

• historical 10 year returns
• Ford valuation model
• previous bears coming on board: Fleckenstein, Leuthold, Ritholtz, Kass
• etc.

Here’s another: the McClellan Summation Index has now curled up to form a bottom. And from a level last seen in 1998:

We may get confirmation of this nascent bull market in a few months time from other sources like the Coppock curve. But until then, only the brave (or foolhardy) should apply.

The picture shows one of the famous “Osborne” bulls that dot the landscape in Spain. They were originally used as massive billboards to advertise a sherry made in Jerez (a region in Spain) by the name of Veterano. After a law prohibiting the advertising of alcohol the government tried to take them down but there was an outcry from people who had by then come to see them as a cultural icon. A compromise was reached were the red lettering of “Veterano” was covered with black paint.

Interesting factoid: many of the statues have a couch or mattress directly under them as the folklore goes that couples that um… couple, under the sign will receive the fertility of a bull and conceive a child.