Happy Anniversary to the stock market! The U.S. bull market hit its 10th anniversary and is now officially the longest-running bull market in history. Feel free to celebrate with some cake and ice cream. The first quarter of 2019 shows what can happen when uncertainties are removed from the market.

In a year that started with so much promise, December capped off a fourth-quarter that ended with a thud as the market was faced with too much uncertainty. You would have thought we entered a recession given the sharp rise in volatility.

The U.S. economy continues to be the little engine that could. Many different measures of economic performance continue to advance at an accelerating growth rate including industrial production, retail sales and employment. While this sounds good, economies do not fire on all cylinders without pausing, and it appears the pause we anticipate is still on target.