DOW at 10,200...up from 6500 in April...surge with the Bulls......

[opihimoimoi]

Wall street making big bucks....main street still slow to recover...but still gaining....

[tyne]

1. Our 401k's gain

when wall street gains.

[uponit7771]

6. Unless you're pulling it out in the very near future how in the world does that help anyone?

[onenote]

10. question: when it dropped and 401K's lost signficant value did you think it didn't hurt anyone?

[FrenchieCat]

12. Do you understand 401Ks, and the fact that folks are able to cash out

that have reached a certain age?

[DJ13]

2. How is Main street gaining?

[opihimoimoi]

4. Severe Depression avoided....Green Cities now on the drawing boards

some are already looking for funds....this will lead to more sustainable jobs which cannot be offshored.

Other factors...peeps are starting to invest...which in turn will lead to more employment...

Unemployment hovering at 17.44%....;but could be much worse...during last depression...it was close to 40%(1932)

[DJ13]

7. The Dow is up 70% in 7 months

During that time what benefit has the average American seen from the new stock bubble?

See, the corporate types have indoctrinated people into believing that the stock market really represents the economy, but thats no more true than saying gambling represents our economic health.

Theres little correlation between the two, in fact just the opposite is true.

A good stock market represents poor employment (productivity eliminates jobs), higher profits from commodities actually damages the consumer by increasing costs of food and energy, and the big money made in the markets tends to end up sheltered from taxes, and spent abroad.

Again, how has this improved the economy of Main street?

[Zynx]

11. A large increase does not mean a bubble is present.

It's kind of the same principle about why a 40% drop from bubble prices does not mean that a rally is imminent.

[DJ13]

13. A large increase based on nothing of substance is the very definition

of a bubble.

[Zynx]

14. Not to the extent the decline itself was unwarranted.

I would say that the decline from 14,000 to 10,000 was certainly warranted and even to 9,000 was also justifiable given how uncertain things were in March. Dow 6,500 was not justifiable. At those levels, the market was trading at around 11x the average of the last decade's earnings with a 3% long term interest rate. That is a differential of approximately 9% earnings yield to 3% on safe investments. Any basic asset allocation model screams "buy" at those prices. At present levels, with interest rates starting to rise, the market is looking a little pricier. With normalized interest rates of 5%, the market would be slightly overpriced right now, but not by a huge margin.

[janx]

15. I know nothing about the stock market except that my mother

advised me, ten or fifteen years ago, to get out of it--that it was only meant for very long-term investments. She had some mutual funds--I have a bit because of my measly retirement funds--but she knew where her investments were. She had money in T-bills over decades, and she also had a sprinkling of money markets, etc. She was very conservative fiscally.

With the long-term investment idea in mind, I started looking at the stock market charts on MarketWatch. Looking at the past five years and the past ten years gave me a much better idea of what might be going on than looking at the past three. It looked as if something went haywire in 2006 and continued into 2007 just before the beginning of the crash. That is to say, DOW stocks were bumbling along, sometimes up, sometimes down, at around 11,000 to 12,000. Then in 2006 they zoomed up sharply to what, 14,000?

Every time I try to look online for an explanation of this, I run into so much B.S. that I get frustrated and quit. Krugman makes sense, but the most of the buffoons who pass themselves off as economists online are just talking out of their ears. And then people repeat the B.S. so that it becomes completely incomprehensible.

Can you explain this to me?

[opihimoimoi]

17. Stocks are but investments to Gain...the short term pain before the Gains hoped for

Its a gamble....as in life

When peeps are confident, they will invest...that investment results in capital which must be spent in order to earn rev

We are at the bottom of the trough....in this sytem...thats the way it is

If we want more....then the investment must collectively reflect the desire for it.

Main Street must be patient ...rescue is on the way...might be sooner but the Pubs refuse to man those mops.

Obama is the only President we got...support is mandated, urgent else we see delay and distractions.

[uponit7771]

5. Via a trickle down process, most still talk about the "economy" in terms and metrics the middle clas

...doesn't care about

[uponit7771]

3. Hours worked is not gaining and is a leading indicator not a lagging one. PE ratios are stupid

...I don't know any FA who isn't telling their clients to sit out in cash because this low volume 2% spikes are bull crap.

Wall Street has giving us ever reason not to trust them

[windbreeze]

8. and the dollar is worth what again??....

75.06 currently...gotta love it...wb

[opihimoimoi]

18. Gatta hand it to George...he really decided the worst path to Peace and Prosperity

[zbdent]

9. I also remember the dire warnings of $10/gallon gas under Obama

if we didn't "elect" McSame/Failure ...

[opihimoimoi]

16. A year ago....they were throwing the kit sink at him....terrorist, socialist, commie, Fear & Phobias