It’s in an expected decline until the next phase hits later this year, says Ron Meisels Getty ImagesRon Meisels, founder and president of Phases & Cycles, expects the bull market for U.S. stocks to stretch through 2016.The chart below shows how the current bull market unfolded. stockcharts.com Phase 1 lasted from March 2009 to April 29, 2011, when the S&P 500 more than doubled. But then the market entered a classic seasonal swoon, plummeting almost 20% amid the second big Greek debt crisis and the debt-limit showdown in Washington, D.C., that cost the U.S. its AAA sovereign-debt rating from Standard & Poor’s. From the Oct. 3, 2011 low of 1,099, the S&P nearly doubled again to a May 21 all-time closing high of 2,131. It hit its recent low of 1,867 on Aug. 25. The day before, the CBOE Volatility index VIX, -1.38% spiked briefly to 53, higher than it was even in 2011. As the next chart shows, Meisels thinks the Dow “broke down through its major support in the low 17,000s [and] the major bull market trend line has been pierced.” http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-bull-market-in-stocks-i...