Stock markets have surged to near five-year highs, thanks to a strong 2012 for investors followed by a rousing January. So where’s the party?
The Dow Jones industrial average is flirting with 14,000, having bounced back from the darkest days of the financial crisis. US stocks have doubled in value since March 2009, meaning many Americans have at least recovered their losses from that period. But for a bull market of this scale, there’s a distinct lack of euphoria out there.
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stockstock prices don't reflect real economy. this is proof. it's bubble that will soon burst
yes. Soon, it will be time to SHORT the markets.
Of Course Beth Healy doesn't say WHY the stock market has gone up. It is the MONEY PRINTING by Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve Bank. QE1, QE2, QE3. To the tune of $85 BILLION per month. Market particpants as well as CNBC are FULLY AWARE of this Major Factor...And Beth Healy KNOWS this too, but is being DISHONEST by not telling the Globe readers. The purpose of this article is to give the illusion that Obama is helping the economy, when in fact he is damaging the economy day by day by massive government money printing, taxing and spending.
Of course, no good news is good news to a right-wing zealot. Markets go up or markets go down: it's always bad and it's always Obama's fault.
Honestman, I tend to agree with your point. A lot of people blamed Gerge Bush 2 for this and that during his presidency, but I know a guy who blamed President Obama for a flat tire on his car. Then, when this same fellow could not figure out how to change the tire, he stood on I-93 and blamed Joe Biden.
If it holds, I pay for college. That's all I wanted out of it. I expect to have to work for my money.
Don't worry, there's always a way to pay, if you do the homework.
In fact the story does point out that Fed stimulus has helped the market for sure.
Look, I am not a big fan of the President, but this surge, IMHO, is due more to the corporate world realizing what the New Normal is in the biz world, tightening their belts, keeping their work force lean, and managing heavily to the bottom line. Sure, the Fed's policies have helped, but organizations have re-focused the way they work and the market, not the jobless have benefited.
"The Federal Reserve has pledged to help get the jobless rate down, mainly by buying up securities. That strategy has helped push up the prices of some assets, including stocks"..This the ONLY sentence in the article that mentions the Federal Reserve. In fact, the Federal Reserve is a Major cause of the stock market's price bubble. Today's WSJ has an full page opinion called "The Fed's Asset-Inflation Machine". Its major purpose IS to pump up the stock market. In fact the Fed's Money Printing is inflating the values of stocks, real estate, energy prices, and grain prices. The Fed's near ZERO interest rates also punish people who just leave money in CD's. Watch food prices at your supermarket. They are going up. It's also causing state and local governments to borrow money they don't have..The stock market's gains are largely an "wealth illusion", as noted by the WSJ.
And just now, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said in CNBC that the Fed intends to continue QE3 (with very low interest rates) for another year. Mr. Evans suggested that people should pull some money out of their low interest savings accounts and "take on more risk", i.e. invest in the stock market.