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Subscribe to RSSStocks opened sharply higher Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrial average up over 200 points, after upbeat economic data coupled with optimism over Europe cheered investors.
The Dow gained more than 1.5 percent soon after the opening bell. The broader S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes were up too.
Stocks broke a three-day winning streak on Wednesday on worries that Europe would not be able to contain its growing debt crisis. But Germany's parliament on Thursday approved an expansion of a euro-zone crisis fund, which helped dispel some of those concerns.
In U.S. economic news, jobless claims dropped sharply in the latest week, offering a glimmer of hope that layoffs were easing. And the government reported that economic growth expanded at a slightly faster pace than previously estimated in the second quarter, although still at a very sluggish rate.
The economic news came the morning after Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said the persistently high unemployment rate, which has been above 9 percent for some time, is a "national crisis" and that the Fed would act to head off deflation (a combination of low growth and falling prices) and the goverment should act to boost jobs.
"The unemployment situation we have, the job situation, is really a national crisis," Bernanke said.
In a question-and-answer period after a speech in Cleveland, he added that workers "are losing the skills they had, they are losing their connections, their attachment to the labor force," The Associated Press reported.
He also said the Fed would be vigilant on the inflation front. "If inflation falls too low or inflation expectations fall too low, that would be something we have to respond to because we do not want deflation," Bernanke said, Reuters reported.
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Let's see, It is up 200 so far today, but it was down 175 yesterday, what will it be tomorrow? Clearly it is running on fear and not logic; that never turns out good for anyone.
Nail Hitter !!!
Two emotions drive the moves made in the stock market... it goes Up on Greed and Down on Fear !!!
None of the fundamentals of a company changes this much over 10 years yet their stock prices changes that much in a week... it's crazy and I'm glad I'm out of the game after 28 years of banking.
So all the commission earning sales yesterday are now earning commissions buying the same shares they sold yesterday to earn a commission.
Sounds like a ponzi scheme to me or maybe a multi level marketing scam.
The Wall St Wankers are so scared of their own shadows, I wonder if any of the have a set between them
Wall St. is up based on false optimism *Yawn
YAWN!Where's my coffee?
Bizarre. It's as though the market is lurching from one side to another in a fog.
Rule of thumb these days, if you can't afford to loose it don't put it in the market.
Good ol MSNBC, the market is NOW, today, (same day) falling rapidly, better change the headline!
"Soars"?? A bit of an over-dramatization, doncha' think?
What a smoke screen! The other shoe will fall. If Germany, France and the other European countries bail out Greece, Greece will default later because the prople are not willing to cooperate. Greece wants to put a property tax in place using the electric company to collect said tax, electric company say's it will not collect the tax, guess what, hearing that if I was European Country to vote on the bail out of Greece I would vote no. Let them fall and that will start the recovery process that much quicker.
The unemployment rolls will show a decline with seasonal help, then climb again after the holiday season and then show improvement when the 99 weeks expire on those collecting. All just a smoke screen.
Come November I am submitting my first write in vote for President. My candidate is the one and only true american you can trust and all grew up with, MICKEY MOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lets see.....An 1100 drop in 2 months and a 200 gain is soaring? Hm..No wonder so many businesses fail.
Due to a slow down in lay-offs? Don't think so. Pelco out here in Clovis, CA just announced yesterday that they will be laying off an additional 50 employees soon. They are a major mfg of Security Cameras and equip. Of course, they were doing much better under the old ownership of Pelco, however, when the owner sold out to the French company, Schneider, they have since laid off numerous employees.
the totals are based on national averages as reported, most likely, by the unemployment agency as far as unemployment claims. It does not apply to any one particular area or community in this country. where as Pelco may layoff 50 employees, there may be several other companies in this country who hire 100 more nationally than the number of Pelco layoffs so in that respect the unemployment claims would still drop by 100 (150 hires less 50 layoff). If, as a nation, we lose 100,000 jobs in one sector but gain 300,000 in another sector then that is an unemployment claims decrease because that means even though 100,000 lost their jobs there are still 200,000 jobs more than before.
The drop in unemployment is mostly due to the "seasonal" adjustment in the formula that the Dept of Commerce uses. Any real improvement, if there was any, is likely less.
It's useless blameing our job market problems on whether one is liberal or conservative. Better blame in on the fact Bush declared a war on a country that was not attacking us and for the most part did not focus on those that did where they were hiding. It took his successor to find the biggest snake and kill it. That war has cost us tax payors over 4 trillion dollars and still averaging 10 billion a month and it cost a lot of jobs. Don't you remember the debt and crisis we were in when we elected an unseasoned leader, a non military educated Harvard grad whose resume mostly showed he was a darn good orator. But those are not known for solving problems. I'm more liberal than conservative but I wish back that John McCain had been elected. At least he knows military strategy and proved his worth in a Vietnam hellhole. He also walks the middle of the road more often than far right or left. IF we brought our soldiers home, quit sending any funds to Iraq, Pakistan, and Afganistan until they eradicated the snakes, then announced we wouldn't support Israel until they agreed on an equitabe border with Palestine so they could have a country, perhaps the snakes could evolve back into human beings, and just perhaps a lot of America's woes would be solved and there would be money to create jobs...peacefully!!!
You know. I can almost understand a political section of one or another particular news outfit being a little bent one way or another. But the business section? That is trite and stupid. Soaring???? The market lost ALL of it's 2010 gains in 30 days and a 200 jump is soaring? Who exactly do ya think you are talkin to? You can't be that clueless. No one with half a brain would read this and take anything written here seriously.
Deflation may just be what we need. Perhaps a good deflation will allow room for an increase in the value of the dollar over time and eventually re-establish our strong economy. The biggest problem with the economy is that the cost of living, and prices over all, are just way too high compared to the average household income. People cannot afford to live anymore. Cost of living far exceeds a 1 income household. If the average household cannot make it on a single income, then our inflation way over the top and needs to be reduced. Although married couples and non married couples living together usually combine their monies to make ends meet, there are many single people and single parents who are forced to live in shelters, live on streets, or work 2 jobs just to make ends meet. This is wrong and it only forces couples to live together even if they don't feel that commitment in their relationship. This creates broken homes, financial stress, homeless children and so on because of the inflation rate. The average household today, from a personal on hands experience, consist of one adult and 2.5 children, or 1 adult. I know many married couples but I know even more who are unmarried living alone, or alone with children, or even living as a married couple but not legally married just to make ends meet.
Something has to make this economy work again. for the last few years we have tried the old ways and they have failed. Traditional growth is not working. Tax cuts and tax breaks to the wealthy has only hindered the economy, it never helped to boost it. In fact the worst of the decline in the economy happened after the Busch tax cuts took place. The wealthy got a taste of more and then got even greedier and now is trying to cripple all of us so they can have more. We need to try something new and different and I feel this is the next best attempt. Let the dollar bottom out, let the stock market collapse, let the businesses fall and then lets rebuild.