The S&P 500 was up 1.49 percent for the week, which was actually the third straight weekly gain of more than one percent.

The continued ramp up in policy support expectations was a widely discussed positive for the week.  Much of the focus was on Japan, where Prime Minister Abe’s ruling coalition scored a landslide victory in the upper house last Sunday.

Abe ordered his ministers to immediately begin compiling an economic stimulus package that reports suggest could total more than 10 trillion yen and revolve around infrastructure development, financial support for small businesses and disaster prevention measures.

There is some speculation that suggests Japan will consider a ‘helicopter money’ policy option, which was fueled by a visit last week by none other than our own former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke, who met with Bank of Japan Governor, Kuroda.

While the government has denied reports that it is considering helicopter money, all of the buzz still fits with expectations for coordinated fiscal and monetary policy support.