Markets Are Surging Today

[nyhuskyfan]

Dow's up 150. NASDAQ is back over 2000 for the first time in a while (it bottomed out at 1265) and the S&P is almost up to 1000 again (it bottomed out at, yes, 666).

I know that these are hollow numbers with unemployment still so high, but I can't help but be reminded about the people blaming Obama for the markets being down in February, as if he was supposed to wave his wand and fix everything immediately. Those people are on to birth certificates now.

[GoesTo11]

1. I moved into cash last week

Cause and effect? There is a consistent pattern over time.

[mnhtnbb]

7. Hm. I'm actually putting a bit of cash to work--short term bond fund

and one dividend paying stock although I put 4x into the bond fund what I put into the stock.

[Cresent City Kid]

2. The problem for Obama

is that what he's done for the economy has only avoided disaster, not brought instant prosperity. We're treading water, but we could have drowned. I see less negatives as positives, but it's easy to criticize when unemployment lags behind the recovery.

[ixion]

3. avoided disaster? not likely. bought time is more appropriate

and probably made the end result worse. Nothing that started the problem has changed. The problem still exists. All this so-called 'stimulus' has done is to push the date forward a bit.

[Cresent City Kid]

4. "Bought time" is more accurate

Last night I watched congress use that time to work on new compensation and risk management regulations. It may or may not work, but it won't be exactly the same.

[Subdivisions]

8. Bingo...

Anyone following the situation closely knows that disaster was merely put on hold. The markets today may be reacting to the drop in on-going unemployment claims. The problem is that does't necessarily mean those people have found jobs.

Without jobs and, taking into account the coming Alt-A and Option ARMs and unsecuritized ARMs as well as commercial paper and credit cards that are expected to default, and an apparently on-going credit unavailability, we are nowhere near the end of this depression.


In the meantime, boosted home sales is coming more from opportunists picking up houses for pennies on the dollar create a false sense that the economy is improving. In an environment where "not as bad as expected" is the new good, the economy, rather than improving, is instead still circling the drain.

[mnhtnbb]

5. There has been some news indicating the bottom may have been reached

in housing. Some folks have been saying the worst may be behind us. Unemployment is a lagging indicator,
so there may be some anticipation that within 6 months hiring could start (the market is generally forward
looking).

[closeupready]

6. Means nothing to me.

NASDAQ has seesawed to and fro 1,500 for over ten years now. That does not indicate stability (which is ultimately what you want in an investment, with steady growth); to the contrary.