Share values in the US have rocketed to an all-time high. With few pauses for breath, the fiscal cliff debate among them, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has surged above 14,198, breaking the 2007 level.
Investors have watched the Dow jump 9% this year. But the rising stock market built on cheap central bank funds may find should the US economy continue to improve – home sales are up, consumer confidence is buoyant and unemployment slowly falling – that those funds dry up.
It's a miraculous turnaround but the after-effects are unknown, especially if the Fed stops printing to cool the market, and it's making everyone twitchy.
