The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday, Dec. 2, edition that the prospect of interest rate cuts over the next year has reinvigorated global stock markets. The Globe's Ian McGugan writes that the MSCI All Country World Index jumped 9 per cent in November, its best month in three years. Strategists at Deutsche Bank, BMO Capital Markets, Bank of America and Royal Bank of Canada think this happy trend can continue, particularly in the United States. They are calling for the S&P 500 index, now about 4,600, to surge to record highs in 2024 of 5,000 or more. On the other hand, the folks at J.P. Morgan predict that Wall Street's favourite benchmark will finish 2024 at 4,200, about 9 per cent lower than it is now. Why such a big divergence in outlooks? Much of it comes down to differences in opinion about whether the U.S. economy will slide into a recession next year and, if so, how deep that recession will be. Optimists, such as Goldman Sachs, argue that most developed nations will escape recession. Skeptics, though, ask whether stocks are offering enough extra payout over bonds to justify taking on all the extra risk and volatility that goes along with equity investing.