This is certainly good news.
The Dow Jones industrial average climbed back over the 10,000 mark yesterday, rallying 144.8 points to 10,015.86. It was the first time in a year the Dow cracked 10,000, a number first eclipsed during the go-go days of 1999.
In truth, it’s hard to take the movements of the Dow too seriously. The Dow is a benchmark that tracks the fortunes of just 30 stocks, so limited it can’t possible represent the entire market, let alone the economy.
But people watch it. There is no denying Dow 10,000 resonates, at some level, with investors around the world, and that matters.
“I think it’s a pretty big deal,’’ says Bob Reynolds, the chief executive of Putnam Investments. “The market is up over 50 percent. A milestone like this will attract more people and that has a way of feeding on itself. I think it’s big for the market.’’
Maybe. But the really big investment story of 2009 is the continued strength of a broader stock market rally that, as Reynolds points out, has pushed prices more than 50 percent higher since the darkest day of early March. Just when skeptics warn stock values have gotten too far ahead of the economic recovery, the market moved higher. Dow 10,000 is an exclamation point to that rally…
Inserted from <Boston Globe>
The resurgence of Wall Street is a good indicator that the attempts by the Obama administration to undo the damage left by Bush and the GOP are beginning to work. Unfortunately, that success that Wall Street enjoys id not yet visible on Main Street. I urge patience, because in any economic recovery, employment is the last thing to recover. Nevertheless, this is a clear indication that the time to concentrate on fixing Wall Street is now past, and efforts to fix Main Street need to move to the top of the list.
9 Responses to “The Dow at 10,000”
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The Dow cracks my ass up and down. It means that the 1 share of the 30 benchmark stocks is worth $10,000. Well who do you think owns shares of the benchmarks? Certainly not the people who mortgaged home and future on promises of returns billowing to a comfortable retirement.
Thank you Ronnie and ALL successors for your unfettered faith in a *ahem* free market unregulated market.
ASSHOLES.
Want to beat the market…get the hell out of it.
"This is certainly good news."
i trust you are just being facetious, tomcat, with a million homeless schoolkids and one out of four kids living in poverty…
Schools And Students React To Surge Of Homelessness
Mark, apparently the DOW reflects the rest of the market. However, major regulation is needed.
RJS, it is good news because the politicians no longer have an excuse to keep bailing out Wall Street at main Street's expense.
tomcat, i guess i see where you're coming from, but since every week i read & post dozens of articles about homelessness, unemployment, foreclosures, etc., any cheerleading about the market in the face of this drumbeat of bad news for the man on the street just rubbed me the wrong way…
RJS, I didn't take offense. I figured we're just taking different routes to the same place. I am as outraged by the predations of Wall Street as you are. At the same time, I see that they have so enmeshed themselves in our economy that giving them success is the only way to rescue it. Now we need to break up all those too big to fail companies into pieces small enough that they can no longer hold us hostage to their greed.
everyone agrees with that:
Greenspan Says U.S. Should Consider Breaking Up Large Banks
😉
Good article, RJS. I was calling for it when he was Chairman. Too bad only his hindsight is 20-20.
followup:
Hulk Smash Banks (With Special Fees and Capital Requirements)
Great alticle RJS. Thanks.