In this week's cover story, Barron's shared the results of its semi-annual survey of top U.S. money managers and found - surprisingly enough - "unrelenting bullishness" about the stock market through mid-2009. This, despite the fact that these same money managers also predict a "contagious recession" for the U.S. economy and "punk profits" for top companies. Even Barron's appears to be a bit puzzled at the seeming disconnect:

"It must really take a lot to scare America's money managers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down by 30%. Credit is near-impossible to get. A global recession looms, and the cost to clean up Wall Street's mess is climbing into the trillions. And yet, against these odds, 50% of the investment pros responding to our latest Big Money poll say they're bullish or very bullish about the stock market's prospects through the middle of next year.

Like the rest of us, the Big Money managers have been chastened by the market's selloff this year, though they no doubt are cheering its spirited rally last week. Nor do they have heroic expectations for the Dow and its beaten-down brethren. But they expect the tide to turn for stocks -- and sentiment -- in coming months, as governments around the world mount a coordinated effort to end the financial crisis and get lending back on track. Besides, bargains abound in almost every sector."

In many ways, the optimism is a bit jarring. The consensus from the top money managers surveyed by Barron's is that the U.S. markets could experience a significant post-election rally over the remainder of 2008. They predict that the Dow could be up 14%, the Nasdaq up 17% and the S&P up 18% over the next two months.

What do you think: Are America's money managers too bullish -- or not bullish enough?

[image: Barron's cover for the week of November 3]