According to this report in The New York Times, investors may be on the verge of dispelling the cloud of gloom and doom they have been under. Why? Because they recently received some bad news about the economy, but it was not as bad as they expected, so they celebrated and hoped for the end of the downturn:
General Electric, the blue-chip corporation, was stripped of its triple-A credit rating, an emblem of business prowess it proudly held since 1956. But its rating fell just one notch, less than some analysts predicted. Shares of G.E. soared 13 percent. The Commerce Department reported that retail sales fell slightly in February — again, less than forecast. And the head of the beleaguered Bank of America said the lender probably would not need more government money, but other banks might. Less bad was good enough. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 239.66 points, or 3.46 percent, to 7,170.06. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index leaped 29.38 points, or 4.07 percent, to 750.74. The Nasdaq composite index rose 54.46 points, or 3.97 percent, to 1,426.10.
The report goes on to note that a recovery is not imminent and that these kinds of booms are common in recessions. On a day when President Barack Obama's top economic adviser warned of a cycle of fear that must be broken, I just wanted to report some good news and do my part to break the cycle.
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