SP 400

Standard & Poor's will make changes to several U.S. indexes next week, including the S&P MidCap 400, the S&P SmallCap 600, and the widely used S&P 500. The changes, which reflect the effects of acquisitions and market cap changes, will occur after the close of trading on Dec. 17.

U.S equities are perched at a 2009 high and third-quarter earnings are coming in much better than Wall Street analysts expected, yet this has to be one of the most hated rallies (and earnings seasons) of all time. The reason is pretty straightforward: The fundamentals and economics remain...