Stocks are within 2% of their all-time highs. The front page of USA Today just touted the bull run's solid footing, and new analysis shows a huge uptick in the word ''bubble'' appearing on Twitter. It has to mean we're doomed, right?
Wrong, says economist, author, actor and dog lover Ben Stein.
"This is not a bubble," Stein declares in the attached video. "There could be a substantial correction if the Federal Reserve purposely tries to raise interest rates. But bubble is defined by the ratio of price-to-earnings, and by that ratio, this is not a bubble."
In fact, he argues that stocks aren't even at all-time highs by most metrics, including price-to-earnings, price-to-book and inflation-adjusted.
"They are high, to be sure, and they could easily correct, but it's not a bubble in the classic sense," he maintains. "This is a stock market that is very well priced, very fully priced, but bubble doesn't really apply to it."
Related: The Argument for a Stock Market Bubble Is Flawed, Says New Yorker's Surowiecki
As for those who are looking for hints in social media or the ill-timed headlines of major publications, Stein contends short-term predictions are just too hard to make. "If you believe sincerely that you will learn how to get rich by reading USA Today, you need to have a very long rest out of the sun."
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