Byron Wien of Blackstone, just released his latest monthly paper and its a heck of a read. He covers his thoughts on how all the government spending may have influenced the equity markets in the US, Europe and Japan, its quite the read, enjoy the snippets below and a link to the rest of the article.

If I am right, the Fed contributed almost $3 trillion (some may have gone into bonds) to the $13 trillion rise in the stock market appreciation from the 2009 low to the current level, earnings increases explained $9 trillion (1.5 x $6 trillion) and other factors accounted for $1 trillion. You could argue that the monetary stimulus financed the multiple expansion in this cycle.

The U.S. market has been long overdue for at least a 10% correction. It has been three years since the last one. Sentiment among investors is optimistic or complacent, not a condition conducive to a sustained upward market move. I still maintain a positive outlook for the S&P 500 for 2015, but perhaps we have to endure a little pain first.

Source: Blackstone