TERRIBLE 2022 is over. Expect the Straits Times Index (STI) and global stocks and bonds to boom in 2023, as a bull market no one foresees delivers strong returns – 15 per cent, 20, 25, maybe more.

Few can believe that, after 2022’s cavalcade of fears drove a global bear market. I understand that. But gloom is precisely what fuels the steep recovery I see coming, as positive surprise in the form of relief gradually washes over markets.

First, disclosure: Last January, I told you to expect a choppy start to 2022 and stocks surging late. That was true for the STI, which drifted down 11 per cent through Oct 24 before rebounding to near flat as I type.