Financial bloggers like to make predictions because their followers like to read them.
Since it is almost free, I decided to gaze into the crystal ball made the following prediction on 18 Jan 2014:
3 Month Outlook: Bear market and volatility
6 Month Outlook: Bear market and volatility
12 Month Outlook: Recovery
Based on the chart below, I got the 3 month outlook partially right. The market was volatile from January to April 2014, with two corrections but it ended higher overall.
I got the 6 months outlook wrong. It was pretty much a bullish recovery after early February, if you look at the January to July 2014 period.
However, I got the overall trend right for the full 12 months. That said, from July 2014 to January 2015, the market was very volatile, with at least 4-5 dips.
Looking ahead, I managed to get the 3 month outlook for my latest forecast right and I expect the bull market to continue until the end of the year.