Dow approaches 13,000, and maybe a record to come

[Omaha Steve]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20120208/D9SORQ480.html

By CHRISTINA REXRODE

NEW YORK (AP) - It was just last summer that the Dow Jones industrial average shed 2,000 points in three terrifying weeks. Investors had a host of things to worry about, including the possibility of another recession.

Now the Dow is within reach of the rarefied 13,000 mark - a level it hasn't seen since May 2008, four months before the financial system almost came apart.

A strong one-day rally - caused by a deal on bailout money for Greece, perhaps, or an unexpectedly positive economic report - could put it over the top.

What's more, the average is just a 10 percent rally from an all-time high. And 10 percent rallies can happen fast these days.

FULL story at link.

Party of NO! shits it's pants.

[msongs]

1. what goes up must come down...unless it reaches escape velocity that is nt

[Fearless]

2. If they fix the financial system we might just keep those gains.

[bluestateguy]

3. The Dow was at 6800 in March 2009

But Obama is destroying the economy.

OK, got it.

[onehandle]

4. Damn Socialist President!

If he wasn't such an enemy to business, it would already be 13,000.

Or something equally stupid will be said on Faux tomorrow.

[jschurchin]

5. Do you think the 48,000,000 Americans on food stamps gives a shit? nt

[dmallind]

7. The 150,000,000 with personal or pension fund exposure to equities probably do. nt

[jschurchin]

11. Got a link brother.

Or am I supposed to take your word for it?

Forget it man. I found it, and it's closer to 100,000,000.

Back in 1989, only 32 percent of households owned stock. Today, there are approximately 24 million Americans who own stock and another 76 million who own stock through their company in their pension funds. That would be around 100 million people out of a population of 307,000,000.

http://answers.bloglines.com/Finance/how_many_americans_own_stocks

Some people just aren't smart enough to learn their lesson from 2008. But hey the world needs idiot's too.

[jakeXT]

6. Long live the FIRE economy

Risk Factor Cause #4: Allowing the US economy to develop around the Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate Industries at the expense of all but the most productive industries (high tech) since the early 1980s

...

As I warned in my 2008 Harper's Magazine article, if our politicians try to maintain the FIRE Economy by use of the federal government's balance sheet, the country will run out of foreign credit before a new, sustainable FIRE-free, production-focused private sector economy can be established.

http://www.itulip.com/forums/showthread.php/21580-Year-of-the-Jump-Ball-Part-I-Payback-Eric-Janszen?p=220615#post220615

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIRE_economy

[Selatius]

8. I don't see it as meaningful, there's too much wiggle room for more securities fraud.

I generally fear this is building a house on quicksand without full and rigorous reimplementation of the Glass-Steagall Act that was repealed in 1999 under the Financial Services Modernization Act signed into law by President Clinton.

[octothorpe]

9. God dammit! Horrible news!

This is going to wreck havoc on my simulated stock portfolio at at updown.com

I bet against the stock market and went a bit overboard with the short selling... There goes my imaginary million dollar portfolio. Think about what you did to me next time you're looking at your healthy 401k earning reports. SHAME ON YOU.



*I'm kidding about putting my fake portfolio ahead of the real world... Please don't hate me.

[Yavin4]

10. So ThIs Is Why Morning Joe Is Sooo Upset Over the Catholics/Contraceptives Story

The economy is improving which removes the last rationale for voting against Obama, and since the Republicans were obstinate, they cannot claim ANY part of the success.

Thus, the faux outrage over contraception.

[Myrina]

12. Meanwhile in the US, people continue to be laid off, foreclosed upon,

.... denied health care and children are still going hungry.

[BobbyBoring]

13. yeah that's the real news

while we keep getting all these reports of good news, I'm not seeing any indication of it.