Byron Wien, a.k.a. Mr. Positive on Stocks, relates his conversation with the "smartest man in Europe" and it ain't pretty. The whole commentary is worth your while:
“It’s very hard to make money in stocks. Earnings growth is the key to equity market performance and with the heavy debt burdens of the developed economies of the United States and Europe, growth is likely to be slow. I know earnings are going to be good this year but profit margins are high and it will be hard for earnings to exceed the nominal growth rate of the economy on a sustained basis."
http://www.blackstone.com/cps/rde/xchg/bxcom/hs/firm_commentary_6873.htm
“It’s very hard to make money in stocks. Earnings growth is the key to equity market performance and with the heavy debt burdens of the developed economies of the United States and Europe, growth is likely to be slow. I know earnings are going to be good this year but profit margins are high and it will be hard for earnings to exceed the nominal growth rate of the economy on a sustained basis."
http://www.blackstone.com/cps/rde/xchg/bxcom/hs/firm_commentary_6873.htm