Dow spikes to 13-month high

[KansasVoter]

http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/23/markets/markets_newyork/index.htm

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks surged Monday, with the Dow touching its highest point in more than a year, on a strong housing report and a rally in commodities.

The dollar's initial weakness versus the euro helped lift gold to another record, putting the precious metal within $36 of $1,200 an ounce. However, the dollar staged a comeback by the early evening.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 133 points, or 1.2%, closing at 10,450.95, its highest point since October 2, 2008. The Dow rose as much as 177 points in the morning, hitting 10,495.61 -- the highest trading level since Oct. 3, 2008.

The Nasdaq composite (COMP) climbed 30 points, or 1.4%, closing short of a 13-month high hit last week. The S&P 500 (SPX) jumped 15 points, or 1.4% but ended short of its 13-month high hit last week.

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[kestrel91316]

1. And wow, there you have it. FURTHER proof that Obama is an abject failure.

[DJ13]

2. When the admin focuses solely on Wall Street because they operate

under the already discredited trickle down theory that the markets represent the real economy its no surprise the market is at a high for the year.

The shame is that if they had expended the same resources and capital into propping up Main Street that they've wasted on Wall Street the return to prosperity wouldnt be limited to only the wealthy and the capitalist investor class....everyone would have shared in the prosperity, and Wall Street would have gone up almost as much with a brighter future for our entire economy.

What a waste.

[kestrel91316]

4. It's a shame that some people see the glass as 99% empty when it is actually

half full.

[DJ13]

5. Half full with a small hole in the bottom

[impik]

7. They HAD to save the banks

No offense, but anyone who say otherwise, doesn't have a clue. If they didn't save the banks, we would be in deep in a second great depression. I don't think this president had any joy bailing out the banks, but he had absolutely no choice.

At the same time, he saved the auto industry, which mean many many people not losing their jobs, and he passed the biggest recovery act in history, aiming straight to main street. He did the best anyone could have done under the circumstances.

[DJ13]

8. There were other ways of "saving" the banks

Many renowned economists thought that seizing those banks we now call TBTF and breaking them up to remove the toxic assets was the way to go.

Just throwing trillions at them (with NO attempts to regulate future behavior) hasnt saved them, it was the rescinding of the mark down rules last Spring that has allowed them to falsely claim to be in better fiscal health now, but in reality they still have just as much bad debts as they had last year, its just that they no longer have to tell anyone about them when they report their earnings.

Those economists still say those banks will end up needing to be broken up before this is over.

And those trillions wasted propping them up instead of actually solving their problems?

The execs now have enough money to retire and buy some islands in the Pacific.

[HughMoran]

3. Just 350 points below what it was when Bush took office 8 years and 10 months ago

Amazing.

[impik]

6. I bet Chip Reid didn't hear about it.

Idiot.

[xchrom]

9. i'll take whatever good news i can get on the housing market.

i bought years and years ago -- but i need the equity for my future -- and i want to sell.