The Dow Industrials have set a new all-time record high, while the S&P 500 is knocking on the door of one. The adage that bull markets climb a wall of worry has never been more apt, proving itself in stocks’ recent action in face of significant economic adversity and the negative publicity that has accompanied the U.S. government’s sequester taking effect.

Moreover, other parts of the world are not likely to compensate for the negative impact of forced austerity measures. The European Central Bank, for instance, lowered its growth forecast today. In fact, the ECB predicts that the economy of the union will contract in 2013, by more than it had expected earlier (-0.5 percent vs. a prior -0.3 percent forecast). For 2014, the ECB sees growth at only a 1 percent pace, down from a previously estimated 1.2 percent.