As bad as the fourth quarter of 2018 was for the stock market, the first quarter of 2019 was almost as good. Since the five percent washout on Christmas Eve, the S&P 500 has risen 25 percent and, as of this writing (5-22-19), major U.S. market indexes are within a few percentage points of their all-time highs. In our 2018 review/2019 preview, we mentioned three factors that were weighing on the economy and markets: rising interest rates, slowing global growth and U.S. trade skirmishes with several countries. Some progress has been made, but many questions, as always, remain.