You are correct.
The equities markets are no longer indicators of the health of the economy. They have become nothing more than trailing indicators but not of the economy, of the optimism/pessimism of investors based upon what the Federal Reserve is saying and doing.
I’ve been compiling screen caps of the DJIA spikes and pits with headlines indicating what the Fed may or may not say on a given day, what the Fed says, what actions the Fed takes.
The DJIA in particular is a joke. When “investors” are not buying or selling based upon the diktat from the FR, the algos and HFTs are running wild taking advantage of ZIRP.
And the VIX, by the way, is NOT an indicator of the weakness of the equities markets. The VIX is nothing more than a reverse graph of whatever happens in the equities markets and, as such, has become a trailing indicator of the markets, and really serves no purpose in forecasting volatility. All you have to do is look at the other indices to see where the volatility HAS BEEN.
Do you think the fed really believes we are in recovery or they know that is bs?