The holiday season has a different vibe, doesn't it? The pace around us quickens, expectations rise, and despite the commercialization, at least some of the joy and optimism of the season seeps in around the edges.
Personally, this weekend, I'll be expecting my kids home from college and med school, and family members are already calling to arrange visits. They're even calling for some seasonally appropriate snow this weekend at my home in Delaware.
The markets themselves usually manage their own form of "joy" at this time of year. The optimism of the populace seems to bleed over into stock prices.
That's no idle speculation, either – history shows that the S&P 500 has provided positive returns in a whopping 49 of the past 65 Decembers. That's a win rate just north of 75%.