The market doesn't fear the fiscal cliff
It likes the coming together that we will see after we go over it.

Yes, it does all seem crazy. And while there are still two more trading days after today, the logical question to ask is: "If this is austerity on the horizon, why do markets seem to like it so much?"
Think about it like this. We know that we wanted Europe to put through pretty much what going over the fiscal cliff does, and those of us who think that growth is important don't like their plans. There's no growth stimulus. Austerity has led to lower interest rates, but those rates are really a function of central bank intervention.
Can our stock market really like a plan that has no growth kickers in it? So, logically we should be going down, not up.
Maybe the market is totally oblivious, and while we can make judgments that the market likes the fiscal cliff from the action, we can also presume the market doesn't know what it is talking about except for retail, which has been rolling over. But that's a tough fiscal-cliff-to-blame call because retail's been weak the whole season, a combination of ultra-warm weather, worries about the cliff and Superstorm Sandy.
This leads me to the most likely scenario: the market likes the coming together that we will see after we go over the cliff with the Republicans fighting vigorously for tax cuts and winning. That's why the sellers aren't dominating.
Makes sense. Grover Norquist really wants that. Some say he wanted the Plan B, but that's just nonsense. He wants nothing but tax cutting and that's what he can bargain with the president on through his committed minions. Turns out he was the most powerful man in Washington after all. Always will be, as long as the GOP owns the house.
Also, let's not forget how much the market is in love with gridlock. We know the next battle will be the debt ceiling and that will create another push for still smaller government and more rancor, which, while distracting, should no longer scare us because that's about debt downgrades that don't seem to matter so much anymore.
So, here's the bottom line. The market doesn't fear the cliff because good things come off it -- middle class tax relief -- and the rest is the long-sought agenda of fiscal conservatives everywhere.
We all acknowledge that a recession will be caused by the cliff if we don't get middle class tax relief, but if we do the fact that we didn't sell off big says that we will get it.
Those who don't believe in this thesis should be selling or shorting retail. The numbers are too high.
That's the best hedge I know.

Jim Cramer is a co-founder of TheStreet and contributes daily market commentary to the financial news network's sites. Follow his trades for Action Alerts PLUS, which Cramer co-manages as a charitable trust.
More from TheStreet.com
david carver (crazzy dave):
You must be related to Nicky Manaj by throwing around the race card freely like that !
BTW: my office manager of 25 years is BLACK .
Unfortunately, I will be absorbing her work load when she retires at the end of this year & I won't be able to rehire someone on account of the inaction by congress. But don't worry about her; she is a wealthy woman in her own right, and she attained that by HARD WORK EVERY DAY !!!
Now go back down to your basement, eat a twinkie & see if you still get your 'check' next month !!
So who has the MOST FEAR ?
The Republicans constituents fear of increasing taxes ?
The Democrats constituents fear of cost cutting ?
I'm going with the latter: the 47% will have to pay into the Obamanomics they voted for, have to look for work - finally- (extended EU benefits gone) .
The Dems are playing the most serious game of 'chicken' I've ever seen & if no deal is reached, we'll begin to see the outrage from those who voted for this mess.
Going over the Cliff is a good idea. There will be NO deal... We need the 47% leech class to start to pay for Obamanomics, and the Cliff will do that. We shall see how they like paying for Obamanomics. The Republicans have figured out they will not get any of the 47% leech class vote while they are on the government teet. The 47% will always vote for someone ELSE to pay their fair share of taxes, while they pay ZERO.
We need to slash spending. That will come up soon as we are at 16.4 trillion in debt now and will hit the limit the first week in January. The house will not increase Obama's credit limit one dime until he comes up with 1.2 TRILLION in spending cuts THIS year, not spread over 10 years and far in the future.
Prepare for the end of Obamanomics. The 47% will begin to pay their way. The insane spending will stop, and the USA will return to fiscal sanity, inspite of the democrats and the 47% leech class...
MORE ON MSN MONEY
DATA PROVIDERS
Copyright © 2013 Microsoft. All rights reserved.
Quotes are real-time for NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX. See delay times for other exchanges.
Fundamental company data and historical chart data provided by Thomson Reuters (click for restrictions). Real-time quotes provided by BATS Exchange. Real-time index quotes and delayed quotes supplied by Interactive Data Real-Time Services. Fund summary, fund performance and dividend data provided by Morningstar Inc. Analyst recommendations provided by Zacks Investment Research. StockScouter data provided by Verus Analytics. IPO data provided by Hoover's Inc. Index membership data provided by SIX Financial Information.
Japanese stock price data provided by Nomura Research Institute Ltd.; quotes delayed 20 minutes. Canadian fund data provided by CANNEX Financial Exchanges Ltd.
LATEST POSTS
Try as the bears might, they couldn't break U.S. stocks. But investors still face frothy prices and considerable headwinds.
FIDELITY VIEWPOINTS
- How to sell covered calls - Fidelity Investments
- Savvy year-end tax moves to consider now - Fidelity Investments
- Seven ways to prepare for tax changes
- Five reasons an annual review is crucial - Fidelity Investments
- Take a look at mid caps now - Fidelity Investments
- State of the sector: Health care - Fidelity Investments
VIDEO ON MSN MONEY
ABOUT
Top Stocks provides analysis about the most noteworthy stocks in the market each day, combining some of the best content from around the MSN Money site and the rest of the Web.
Contributors include professional investors and journalists affiliated with MSN Money.
Follow us on Twitter @topstocksmsn.

