Stocks Yin to Bonds' Yang

Adding to the confusion is a report from Duke University showing that chief financial officers say they expect to increase capital spending, hiring and merger activity in the coming months. They expect earnings growth to slow due to rising healthcare costs and a shortage of skilled labor, but the "level of optimism about the U.S. economy continued to recover from a five-year low reached in September 2006," according to a press release.

In sum, the outlook is cloudy with chances of either rain or the sun breaking through. In other words, about as reliable as your average weather report.