Can M&A save the market?

Commentary: Deal making remains robust, but can it fuel a stock rally?

January 31 - MarketWatch - A funny thing happened on the way to the recession. Someone forgot to tell the deal makers.

Despite dire predictions of a mergers-and-acquisitions slowdown, the M&A rush that fueled the market's outsized gains last year may not be slowing after all. Sure, the scope and characteristics of deals are changing, but buyouts are still taking place. This steady stream of deal making is largely thanks to the huge cash stockpile -- more than $200 billion -- of private-equity capital that's looking for a home.

The bears will probably point out that, though there may be a lot of cash on the sidelines, there is still a debt backlog of about $250 billion, according to Anthony DiNovi of Thomas H. Lee Partners, who spoke Wednesday at the Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst Conference. Read More.