Top business story in 2013: Booming stock markets

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By JOSH BOAK

It was an easy year to emulate Warren Buffett even as Congress almost wrecked the economy.

U.S. stocks rocketed to new heights, and markets in Japan and Europe jumped, too. The gains enriched investors and defied a still-subpar economic rebound from the Great Recession.

Budget fights closed much of the U.S. government for 16 days. Leaked classified documents showed that the National Security Agency collected private online communications via Internet companies. The disastrous rollout of President Barack Obama's health care law confirmed fears of a bureaucratic train wreck.

Central banks embarked on a shopping spree. JPMorgan Chase paid a record $13 billion for its role in the housing bust. General Motors flashed signs of its old horsepower. A colossal merger for American Airlines and US Airways took flight. Twitter's IPO recalled the dizzy dot.com era. And the heartbreaking deaths of 1,100 garment workers in Bangladesh showed that some overseas factories serving U.S. companies remain unsafe.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20131225/DAATHDO80.html

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In this Friday, Aug. 30, 2013, file photo, Jason Hardzewicz, a floor official and trader for Barclays, works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, in New York. 2013 was a great year for the average investor, but few market strategists believe that 2014 will be anywhere near as good. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

[lastlib]

1. A great year to be a 1-percenter......!

not so much for the bottom 80 percent of us.

[Myrina]

2. So when are the working rabble finally going to gather 'round the fire & ask ...

" .. why are we so fucking broke if companies & the stock market are doing so well?" To the pitchforks!!!

Sadly, I was just watching MSNBC and the heads were discussing the 'best new movies' coming out. DiCaprio's "Wolf of Wall Street" got lots of nods left some aghast because OMG! there's alot of sex and drugs in that movie!!!! SEX!!! and DRUGS!!! No disgust about the vile greed and underhanded financial dealings it portrays (most of which probably still go on) ... just OMG SEX! AND DRUGS!!

SMH.

[maindawg]

3. They own us now.

We are their pets. While the Kochs rake in billions a day we pay $3.29 a gallon for gas and the cost of everything else reflects that cost. The Koch Brothers get all that money.
They are the middle man.
The Fed pumps 80 billion dollars a month into the stock market and/or the banks ,same thing and then they declare a strong economy. I think they borrow the 80 billion dollars from the Chinese government. What could possibly go wrong ?