Stock-Market Sages Say Worst Is to Come

The stock market heaved a sigh of relief last week. Gains were widespread. The broad-based Wilshire 5000 is up 39% percent, or $3.2 trillion, from the market low of March 9. (The benchmark S&P 500 Index is down today, with Bank of America(BAC Quote), American International Group(AIG Quote) and UnitedHealth Group(UNH Quote) falling more than 3%.)

There's a growing consensus that the worst of the economic news is behind us, and that a rebound in the economy can't be far behind the rebound in the stock market. File all of that under the heading "everything is relative."

The unemployment numbers were bad. But not as bad as expected. (Tell that to the 539,000 people who lost jobs in April.) ...