It sure seems like these markets can keep going up and up forever; the Dow blew right past 22,000 yesterday – its sixth consecutive record day, no less. And this comes on top of July shaking out to be the second-best month on the Street all year.
Beyond the usual crowd of permabears, you'd be hard-pressed to find too many voices calling for a correction or crash. Some of them have been calling for a crash since Election Day – Ronald Reagan's Election Day!
Still, there's a certain quiet apprehension out there among economists, big fund managers, and analysts, according to a recent CNBC Fed survey.
Now, stocks very well could go higher, 10% or maybe even more once tech gets its mojo back. But there are two very good reasons to prepare for a dip of some kind.
No. 1 is simple: It's your money, and it always makes good sense to protect it. "Prepare for a rainy day."
No. 2 is probably the most compelling reason: When markets are heading higher the way they have been, "insurance" is "on sale."