Started investing pretty heavily in March of '09. When the DOW hit 12,000, I figured it was mostly due to the Gov. pumping money into the system and I went to mostly cash. Still have a little in mutual funds and a few single stocks in my Roth but investing very conservatively.
The market is up in nominal terms but the value of the dollar is declining. At the current time its my analysis that both are roughly offsetting the other and so people invested in "the market" are probably about breaking even in real terms. However, I have been considering getting out. This has been a nice run, good gains have been made, but the fundamentals don't support the prices and I think we are going to be due for a correction. Also been investing in some gold and silver just as a small hedge
I have a 401k through work that has produced >34% returns year to date. Hard to pull money out at this time with those kind of returns. Lots of companies are making lots of money and are very profitable. Many of them are American based and doing well along with killing it with their overseas operations. Yes the US financial situation is a mess but that isn't the only driver for the stock market
Been at it since the late 80s. Seen good times and bad times with it. My mother is a retired banker who has always helped me and my sibs with it. She really knows her stuff and has never steered me wrong.