The Stock Clock

Schwab's Jeffrey Mortimer, in a 2004 issue (September or October?) of Schwab Investing Insight, uses the concept of a stock clock to illustrate the market cycle. He believes "we're around 9 o'clock, when the economic recovery is gathering steam as investors climb a wall of worry".

Writing now in the March 2005 issue, Mortimer still maintains we're still around 9 o'clock and are in a bull market that still has another leg to go.

How long do these cycles take. Back to the earlier issue, Mortimer says it take as little as three years or as long as a decade. It's been five years so far since the last top. "It's possible we could stay at 9 o'clock for a long time."