A bear market in stocks could be coming far sooner than expected

AP Stocks of companies with a strong balance sheet are outperforming those of companies with a weak one as monetary accommodation slows. This signals that the 8-1/2-year bull market may be entering its final innings as investors flock to high-quality stocks. In the stock market, when the best-financed companies are dominating returns, it's time to get worried. It's a counterintuitive dynamic. You'd think that when investors are favoring companies with the strongest balance sheets — the ones wi...