S&P 500 Doubles it's 2009 Low

I will admit that I have been fairly bearish in the market as of late. I have not sold off any assets, as I am still a long term investor, but I have been preparing for a correction for the last two weeks or so. I have been reading quite a bit into the unrest in Egypt, as well as some of the budgetting issues here at home. Combine that with the markets recent stellar run, and I felt that it was over-inflated and could not last. I was prepared for a drop of 1.5-2% over the course of a couple of days and then a levelling off period, but it hasn't come. sure there have been off days here and there, but nothing like the correction I was expecting, and why I was leaning more conservatively with my trading. I can certainly admit when I am wrong, and in this situation, I have played too conservatively. I would have thought this an excellent time to take profits, but that would have meant missing out on the steady increases that we have seen. As I write this, the Dow is close to 12300, while the S&P has doubled since its 2009 lows, and I stand corrected on my bearish leanings.

The reason for this I beleive is that the unrest in Egypt has had very little effect on the oil imports. True, Egypt controls the Suez canal, but it produces very little oil (in relation to other gulf states) and the civil unrest in the region seems to have had little effect on the shipment of oil from other areas. Another factor is that Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen, where the bulk of the unrest has been, play only very small roles in the emerging markets trade, while Brazil and India are still holding strong.

There is still a threat out there in the form of Iranian sabre rattling - just enough to spook investors into bearish tendancy's, but as situations calm down overseas, I see a continued steady increase in the general market, and possibly a drop in oil prices as the shipping lanes become more secure.