HOUSE OVERSIGHT 014527 winning the Premier League (before this season began, British bookmakers listed them as a 5,000- to-1 shot to emerge as the champion), the Cleveland Cavaliers' first ever National Basketball Association championship and, of course, the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series for the first time since 1908! All unlikely. But they happened. Last but not least, in our own political backyard, we witnessed Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election last month. Also unlikely. We all know markets do not like uncertainty. However, sentiment can shift quickly if fundamentals are not negatively affected, and what was previously determined to be "unlikely" turns to enthusiasm as to what could be. "We expect business, consumer and investor confidence to continue to head higher well into 2017, with most of the newly expected growth to come in 2018, which should underpin equities for most of the year." CHRISTOPHER HYZY CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, BANK OF AMERICA GLOBAL WEALTH AND INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Why this expansion can continue Business cycles typically last between five and seven years before fundamentals deteriorate, usually due to a policy error of some sort. This can produce a recession and/or a bear market, which tend to correct the excesses that have been built up and kick-start a new cycle. Bull markets and cycles do not die of old age—there needs to be a fundamental catalyst that emerges and pushes the trends back the other way. We are entering our ninth year in the current business cycle, despite all of the complexities and concerns that have come and gone since the financial crisis.. In fact, this cycle could have extended another few years along the same path, given the secular stagnation that prevailed. This era needed ultra-accommodative central bank monetary policy just to keep things stable and plodding along this far into the cycle. It also needed corporations willing to manage their earnings to the penny