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March 4 (Bloomberg) -- Steve Leuthold, whose Grizzly Short Fund returned 74% last year betting against U.S. stocks, said now is the time to buy equities because investors are too fearful about the economy.
“These comparisons people make with the Great Depression are totally out of touch with reality, and pretty stupid,” he told Bloomberg Television in an interview today. “We’ve been in much worse, much more panicked and more scary situations in the U.S.”

The economy isn’t as bad as it was in 1974, when stocks began rebounding, said Leuthold, who oversees $3.2 billion at Leuthold Weeden Capital Management in Minneapolis. He predicted the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will surge to at least 1,000 in 2009, representing a gain of 44% from yesterday’s 12-year low of 696.33.