I remain convinced that we are witnessing a very deft and delicate distribution by DaBoyz. Although we should always pay heed to the adage about not fighting the Fed, it is quite plausible that the central bank’s best efforts are about to be overwhelmed by the economy’s encroaching failure. Nor am I buying the most recent uptick in retail sales as somehow meaningful. With real incomes stagnant, robust consumption implies only that yet more layers of credit are piling up against the weakest U.S. recovery on record.  Of course, none of this precludes the possibility of a short-squeeeze rally that takes the broad averages to new record highs. My guess is that such a rally would be short-lived. In any case, I would not fear shorting into it.