PNC strategist: Cash levels highest since September, 2002

When the correction comes, stocks could get a lift from the stash of uncommitted cash held by investors. Bill Stone, PNC Wealth Management's chief investment strategist, tracks saving deposits and both individual and institutional money-market accounts to gauge the potential fuel for rallies. The level of available cash, he says, recently stood at about 62% of the total market value of the broad S&P 1500 index -- down slightly from 65% in March, but still well above the 47% average over the past decade. In fact, the last time cash hit this level was in September 2002. A year later, the market was up more than 12%.

~ Barron's, "Stocks Fall Hard As Oil Hits New Highs," by Kopin Tan