32 Reasons Stocks Will Jump This Year

This column was originally published on Street Insight on Jan. 30 at 8:40 a.m. ET. It's being republished as a bonus for TheStreet.com and RealMoney.com readers. For more information about subscribing to Street Insight, please click here.

Last year around this time, I speculated on the 20 reasons U.S. stocks would rise a total of 15% for the year. This year, I have 32 reasons for a 17% total return in the S&P 500 for the year. I believe:

1. U.S. GDP growth will average 3.0% this year. My reasons: Housing- and auto-related weakness will subside, and the GDP deflator will subtract less from nominal growth as inflation continues to decelerate. ...