AAII's Rotblut on the potential meaning of 'vanishing optimism'

Charles Rotblut, vice president for the American Association of Individual Investors — overseer of the AAII Sentiment Survey — discusses the dramatic drop in bullish sentiment last week and how the big spread between bullish and bearish investors increased so dramatically that it teeters on the edge of becoming a contrary indicator. The sentiment survey has a history of showing that when emotions swing too far in one direction, the market responds by moving in the opposite direction. Still, Rotblut notes that bearish sentiment is "unusually high" and has been above its historical averages for 15 consecutive weeks. Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, looks at the wild swings in bond-market sentiment and expectations, whether consumers will keep spending in the face of flagging sentiment and higher costs and introduces us to his alter ego, "Captain Inflation," whose superhero sidekick could be Kevin "The Hawk" Warsh, the new Federal Reserve chairman who will get his first shot at addressing inflation on Thursday. Plus, Tom Bernard discusses his new book, "The Index of America: How the S&P500 Works and Why You Should Invest In It," and how the leading market indicator will keep up and remain the flagship benchmark for long-term investors. He addresses issues like concentration, diversification, globalization and more.