MARKET MOVERS: MAN OR TIDE?

The author presents his opinion on the slow growth of the U.S. stock market since 2000, comparing it with the bear market of 1966-1982. Both markets dealt with multiple recessions, but economists state that they cannot predict the end of the 2000 bear market because stock prices are contingent upon outside forces. He examines how U.S. Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have thus far failed to do anything to effectively reanimate the stock market, and discusses how the presidency of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, would fix the securities trading industry.