Stocks are poised to close the year near a record-high, up nearly 30%, with just one-and-a-half trading days left in 2019. As a spectacular year for stocks ends, it's wise to remember that the 2019 bull market repeatedly defied widespread worries all year long, and returns in 2019 were defined by the actions of the Federal Reserve.

A year ago, stocks were in the throes of a 19.8% drop. On December 19th, 2019, the Fed chair had announced a quarter-point hike in interest rates, which triggered a short-lived plunge that, after rounding, qualified as a bear market.

On January 4th, 2019 the nation's most powerful financial officer appeared at the American Economic Association meeting in Atlanta, flanked by his two most recent predecessors, and admitted the Fed made a mistake by raising rates.