Watch Spike, Not Chester

Remember that Looney Tunes cartoon with Spike and Chester?

Spike, a big, lumbering bulldog, calmly and confidently strolls down the sidewalk with a toothpick in his mouth.

Chester, his annoying beagle sidekick, bounces all around him irritatingly asking, “So whadda ya wanna do today spike? Huh? Wanna play ball? Whadda ya say Spike? How ’bout we chase cars? Does that sound like fun? How ’bout beating up a cat? Wouldya like that Spike? Wouldya?”

Spike is the economy.

Chester is the stock market.

Where Spike goes, Chester goes. Where the economy goes, the market goes.

Just like Chester bouncing around Spike, the market bounces around the economy.

This month the market’s down, while the economy calmly and confidently strolls down the sidewalk of growth.

Corporate earnings are at an all-time highs. Unemployment is at historic lows. Wages continue to grow. I’ll spare you more positive economic indicators, but they are there.

Chester is annoying and distracting. Don’t pay attention to Chester.

Watch Spike.