Exit, Pursued by a Bear

Private equity firms are trying to cash out of their investments. Uh-oh.

By Daniel Gross
Posted Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009, at 6:00 PM ET

The stock market has rallied impressively since this spring and closed above 10,000 for the first time in about a year. The S&P 500 is up 60 percent since the sages were declaring an Obama bear market in March. (In fact, the bottom came precisely when the Wall Street Journal editorial page published economist Michael Boskin's piecebad things have frequently happened in the bourses. "Obama's Radicalism is Killing the Dow.") Even so, investors should be worrying. The rally has occurred as unemployment has risen and housing has continued to struggle. Plus, it's October, a month in which bad things have frequently happened in the bourses.