What a difference a year makes! As 2022 began, the stock market was coming off a phenomenal year. The S&P 500 generated a total return of 28.7% in 2021, following a gain of 18.4% in 2020 (the year of the pandemic), and 31.49% in 2019. It seemed that stocks could do no wrong!

Forecasts for 2022 predicted more good times ahead. The Federal Reserve expected the 2021 inflation surge to be a short-term, or transitory problem, so it neglected to raise interest rates during 2021. In reality, core inflation rose to a four-decade high in 2022, nearly tripling the Federal Reserve’s full-year forecast.

Meanwhile, top Wall Street analysts predicted the stock market would produce gains again in 2022, though they would likely be nominal. In reality,