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Spencer Platt / Getty Images
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
By msnbc.com news services
Wall Street soared at Monday’s opening bell, as investors cheered a strong start to the U.S. holiday shopping season.
The Dow Jones industrial average was lately up over 300 points.
Initial reports show a record number of shoppers visited stores and websites during the four-day holiday weekend. That's welcome news with consumer spending accounting for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.
Markets in Europe were also up sharply amid signs that European leaders were making progress toward resolving the continent's debt crisis. Jitters about Europe contributed to last week's nearly 5 percent drop in U.S. stock indexes.
Monday’s gains also represent a rebound from the prior week when Wall Street suffered its worst week in two months. The lack of a credible solution to Europe's debt crisis has kept investors away from risky assets and downgrades of Belgium and Hungary added to the gloom.
Last week, the U.S. market fell 4.7 percent, giving back almost two-thirds of its gains in October, its best month in 20 years. CNBC said the U.S. stock market saw its biggest percentage loss for a Thanksgiving week since 1932.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said new homes perked up in October, rising a modest 1.3 percent.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Leave a Comment:
Please MSNBSTOOPID, just give us the numbers; don't try to explain them. Last week, the world was coming to an end due to Europe. This week, since a bunch of coffeed up women beat the crap out of each other at the local wal Mart over cheap TV's, all is well and the market surges. Either investors are dumb beyond belief, or these attempts at explaining the rises and falls of the Dow are worthless.
Europe, and Japan are now in recession soon to be followed by the US.
What's the old saying; "Even a dead cat bounces on the way down".
The market in wall street is rumor driven; just think because people are spending money they do not have, the market goes ballistic, the stock market is trader driven, up or down it does not matter, traders make their money either way; a drunken binge, going to be one hell of a hangover when we wake up !
I LOVE your handle Yes they are not only stupid, but the new comedy channel and leftist Obozo lapdogs to boot.
Gee I guess we cant fool ALL the people.
The markets, all of them, are driven by the very large investment firms and banks. Think Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, among a few others. They move billions of dollars of stocks, bonds, options, commodities, etc. They take a position in a respective market and push that position on investors, large and small, then abrupty cash out of their position after driving the market one way or the other to suit their goal of quick and large profits. They actually dupe their own clients and anyone who listens to them. This is one very big reason we are seeing wild swings in the exchanges, almost daily! They are RUTHLESS CROOKS!
saxon..."just think because people are spending money they do not have"
I think you're right. Americans who have successfully weathered the economic downturn over the last couple of years are now confident enough to return to their old spending habits.
I for one am looking at my savings and retirement, knowing how it has been devalued by inflation, and thinking I really need to save even more and spend less. Not going to be a good Christmas at my house.
First thing that popped into my head: "So what happens when the holidays are done?!"
It churns my stomach to watch traders get excited, like little children, when they see the dollar signs rolling in.
But, at least, I know the what adults without souls look like.
Spend your a$$ off now, I hope your job is secure! You might just find your homeless after the holidays. Save your money, let the 1% buy all the Chinese junk.
Hey!! I called it last week!!
a-roid
The stock market is such a joke. Here are next weeks headlines: Monday: Stocks up as investors watch all the little people piss their $$ away on Black Friday. Tuesday: Stocks down as the market realizes they have to wait another year for the next Black Friday. Wednesday: Stocks up as Bill Gates tweets he will bail out the European countries in financial crisis. Thursday: Stocks down as Bill Gates tweets he was joking. Friday: Stocks up as oil spikes due to glitch in the matrix...
#11 - Wed Nov 23, 2011 1:28 PM EST
MSNstupid: so let me get this straight: The stock market did NOT open up 300 points and what we saw with our own eyes is all the hocus pocus of a vast media conspiracy led by MSN to fool us into thinking ANYONE was buying anything on the biggest shopping day of the year or that investors and markets had reacted to that?? Wow...when you open a window, can you see the sun from your planet?
thenewstoday: 40% of the American economy is fueled by consumers. What you need to understand is that a stores' sales on any particular day are real...that EVERY year, in good and bad economies, merchants plan for loss leaders on this day--the question is how much (this year) or how relatively little (i.e. '09)....irregardless of the "emotion" that brought a significant boost in consumers out, black Friday is still traditionally the largest retail day of the year, and a bellweather for the season. If consumer confidence is up slightly and the indicators are that it is, then the sun will continue to rise for the economy as a whole, even if it's dark in your house. The market will continue to rise and fall, lagging behind consumers and waiting to see how real Europe's fixes are. And why would you expect that to be any different??
Thankfully this story gives me my weekly chance to reiterate that this is going exactly as the model predicts for the extension of the Bush tax cuts at the end of 2010. Please refer to my post here (#1.44 from August). Hiring grew as soon as it became apparent that taxes would not be raised, then the hiring leveled off. Once the new hires were comfortable with their new income source, they started spending. The economy grows.
Next up, businesses will feel better about their own situations and another round of hiring will commence. As I noted, all very predictable results of the extension of the Bush tax cuts. That is unless they are threatened with higher taxes again or Europe tanks because the European governments have been acting like we've been acting, only longer.
One should also note that this rise in economic indicators is well after nearly all of the near trillion dollars of failed boondoggle "stimulus" has been spent. We don't need more of that kind of failure. We need more of the freed market success.
ahh yes, the old no tax, no regulation, supply side trick creates jobs. It takes true morons to make this work in their pea brains. Job's are created through demand for the product. You can take away every regulation there is, you can let the corporation's run tax free, and you can let them build stores, factories, malls a thousand miles long, or whatever else your backwards thinking takes you. The market is driven by demand. These companies laugh at you all the way to the bank. They're not going to build anything or give anyone a job unless the demand is there to justify it. Getting money into the hands of those who will actually spend it will get people to the stores, driving production. So when economists say "70% of economy is based on consumer spending" - do you think that's a joke? It's not "70% of economy is based on no regulation tax free for all businesses". You, and the sheep that believe this stupidity need to start doing something you obviously haven't been introduced with - critical thinking skills and a basic lesson on how the economy works.
you have to have advanced economies like the US acctually competing on a different level...not as you suggest, struggling with emerging economies over who can make the cheapest tennis shoes...The US was always going to get here eventually....competing with the world, not just itself. This is NOT the 1950's...we eventually are going to have to compete primarily on brains, not brawn. we'll not get there with the very limited skilled workforce we have today.
Yes, competing with countries who offer low wages and inferior products can be tough to compete with, but we're seeing that trend reversing. Chinese and other workers in that group are starting to make better wages as the government sees the benefits of having a vibrant middle class. You can see in stores today of products made in the far east that were once dirt cheap are now being sold at US and European cost. With rises in prices like that you'll start seeing manufactures coming back to the US to be closer to the demand, while still paying competitive wages. China is opening new supply hubs in the US which is creating new jobs here, but I suspect it's also important for them to show manufactures they can get their products here cheaply without having to move their operations back. The tide is moving back in our favor, not against us. Just like the US during the Industrial Revolution and beyond, cheap labor will eventually dry up. At least the kind that will supply millions.
Jobs aren't created by demand, they are created by a profitable cost/revenue equilibrium. You can have all the people you like wanting a product, but if the cost of producing that product is more than what people are willing or able to pay at any given point, a business is not going to offer it. Jobs will not be created because the cost/revenue equilibrium is tilted toward loss.
By lowering the cost of production, the equilibrium is tilted towards profit and long-term job creation along with it. This does not even touch on how much influence the ease of securing investment dollars has on businesses and job growth. And investment dollars come from??? You got it. The people who would have less investment dollars left over because of raised taxes.
You can put lipstick on a pig,,,, but it's still a pig...........just wait until all the returns start flowing back to the stores...................
Oink, Oink........Maureen you are right!
Don't open any of that sh*t, you might need to return it after the holidays! They won't let you return it.
Gee, people spent a bunch of money on Christmas presents right after Thanksgiving..... Who knew that was going to happen? Time to break out the band!
Happy times are here again, la, la, la.
This whole thing follows a very predictable trend, though I wish it were predictable enough to make a few bucks with! ;-) Last week during the stock drop I said something like "Just wait until Monday - the stocks will 'soar' because of Black Friday". LOL ... there it is!
Oh my God! That just gave me a huge hardon! Thanks for that breaking news!
We're told by the media The economy is in the tank, a record pecentage of homeowners are under water, forclosures on on the rise, thousands are protesting in the streets; discretionary spending at an all time low, the Euro threatens another recession, stock market swings by hundreds of points on a near daily basis.
YET, a record haul(50+ billion) in retail and people are fighting over material possesions in the shopping malls. What in the heck is wrong with this picture? Either the media is out of control, or the American psyche is out of control. Maybe a little of both. Hard to decipher these days.
UFB
I see the ATM is open again!!!! Sell off on Friday for a cash filled weekend!~
Until we start basing our economy on facts and actual Gold in hand instead of believing and putting our faith in rumors, all we are doing is creating artificial economic bubbles that keep exploding. We can't keep on going on what world leaders promise or our President wants to happen just by throwing money at a fire. Politicians are always full of hot air and always let you down. Present day leaders in Europe and our current Administration, Congress and Senate are useless for helping us out of this economic Tsunami.
Save your money, don't go spending wildly on Christmas gifts. Instead, go help at a charity or church food drive. You will need that saved up money to survive during the next 5 years.
Great! Wall Street is all excited because a lot of people spent money they can't afford to spend or that they don't have at all, on stuff they don't need in order to prove how much they love each other and how wonderful they are. There is nothing science based or even rational about the stock market. It is entirely based on emotional responses to stimuli. Its like having an unmedicated out of control manic-depressive managing your money.
Schools should have classes in the psychology of advertising (so students can understand how they are being manipulated and how to evaluate a sales pitch,) and how to manage a personal budget. I don't mean personal finance since I would hate to see the local stock broker teaching the course as an adjunct!
Ooooo.... American consumers spent alot of money holiday shopping. That makes our economy and the world economy all better. Like that has anything to do with the long term health and growth. Are they really that stupid?!!! I'm so sick of the market being manipulated by wallstreet and the government. Stocks prices used to be based company performance and financial outlook. Capitalism is dead and it started with all the bailouts.
Yes they are that stupid.....
Listen, I work for a pretty well known retailer in NYC. Sales figures are not that good overall after Friday. Wall St. is in for a big surprise when daily sales fall flat.
Thank You JJ from NY your post says it all.Just took the words right out of my big fat Italian Mouth!EXACTLY!
I work for a women's clothing chain in a mall. Not only did we come in under last years total sales for the weekend, but 0 out of 15 of our stores in our district made their weekend goal (the goals were LAST years figures each store made). I talked to some of the other store managers in the mall and got the same story. The reported media numbers are spun and include just "visits", not actual $$ but just "visits".
You're all in for a big surprise after the music stops. Bada bing bada boom baby!
Never Mind!
In future news stocks plummited due to Bernake getting a fortune cookie predicting "possible hardships ahead"
Hmmm. In my town the sales were very disappointing. I'm guessing Wall Street cherry picked. Again.
oh and dont forget to look up oil it went back up over 100 a barell the good guys at the futures desk were already talking 200 a barell we are so fortunate to have these future thinkers setting these lofty prices that we will have the 10 a gal gas sooner than we think we are so lucky every one went out to spend and inform these traders that all is well
Black Friday may have been a hit, but will it continue? Drove past a Walmart Sunday afternoon, maybe only 25 cars in the parking lot. These retailers will probably have to offer these deep discounts, all the way through Christmas, to get people into their stores. Then wall street can complain about how this discounting ate into the profits of these retailers.
It's called "free market captialism". We don't want an Obama stimulus.
I ask you, what do people's shopping habits on "one" day out of the year have to do with the stock market?????? Wall Street is just looking for any way they can to raise the price of oil and commodities and stick it to the American people once again.
seems like the food stamps have giving the poor more shopping cash.
We are all ecstatic this xmas, so spending more, because we all know that in 2013 we will have jobs and an economy that we can trust after we throw out Obama in 2012!!!!! NO MO Obama, HOLDER, Sivilils, Chu, communists czars, after Nov.!
Hey, enjoy the government you deserve- guys like you made Obama not merely possible, but inevitable.
BTW- don't hold your breath on Obama's being replaced- not until you can field someone that isn't a sociopathic liar or a freakin' nutball.
I understand the right's desperation- and appealing to all the fringe elements of the far right may garner a few more votes- but you need someone who has at least one foot in reality- someone who can gain the support of main stream conservatives.
Is that it?
I could have sworn that people had taken out home equity loans on their overvalued homes in order to spend like Bernanke prints; and then stop making payments.
Rusty Dreams... It's not the main stream conservatives that are needed as much as the independents.
Obama was elected by independents and, primarily, the non-political types who usually don't vote coming out in droves to make a political statement by electing our first "black president". Obama will not have nearly as many of those peoples vote this time around, and many independents at this point are totally disillusioned with what either side has to offer.
Wahoo; now all those broken 401k's will see their value restored, even as the dollar falls against other currencies...oh, wait- I was dreaming.
@!$%# WALL STREET, WALK ON D.C.!!!!!!!
so tomorrow when the stocks go down they blame it on good holiday sale and spin it that wall street has us by the shortys just the same way they did with the greece and spain