Time to look for attractively priced bottom-up options

It has been over a year since the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Credit spreads, which skyrocketed during the crisis and remained high early this year, have retracted somewhat.

The US consumer, who effectively stopped spending in the fourth quarter of 2008, has begun to come out of hibernation. Financials have strengthened their balance sheets and begun to move away from the government assistance. But all is not right just yet. For example, the real estate market, both commercial and residential, continues to move forward as though dragging a dead weight behind it. There remains a tremendous weight to the overall economy due to the costs of the financial bailout. Where does that leave us? First, the economy, referred to above, and the market are not ...