Not sure latest bear market scare is over

IF JOBS reports help US stocks rise for the third week in a row this week, the latest bear market scare may be at an end. That's a big "if."

Major indexes rallied last week to pare losses for January, but still endured a historically bad opening to the year.

According to Carter Worth, analyst for research firm Cornerstone Macro, this was the ninth worst January for the broad Standard & Poor's 500 in its 80-year history. Considering the first two weeks of the year were the worst start in all that history, most investors breathed a sigh of relief at the bell on Friday.

Stocks rallied last week partly because corporate earnings and economic data were not as bad as feared, and partly because oil prices rebounded. Miners such as Britain's Anglo American and Brazil's Vale cushioned the blows from commodity price declines by announcing layoffs or cutting their dividends. Chevron, the second largest US oil company, highlighted the extent of the oil bust when it reported its first quarte…