[box type=”info” align=”” class=”” width=””]by Sarah Feldman,
The longest bull market clocked in at 3,453 days on Wednesday, roughly a 10-year run. A bull market begins when the market rises above 20 percent, which for this most recent run, occurred after the nadir of the 2008 financial crisis. Since March 2009, when this bull market began, the S&P 500 has climbed by more than 320 percent.
Most recently low yielding bonds have made stocks more attractive and given companies more wiggle room to borrow. Corporate tax cuts have helped bolster balance sheets. Apple valued at over $1 trillion has helped push the bull market further.
Eighty percent of all stocks are owned by the wealthiest 10 percent of American households. Roughly half of American households have nothing invested in stocks, even when counting retirement savings. By and large the profitable stock market does not end up augmenting the wallets of most Americans.
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