Data has consistently been pointing to a slow-growing economy, not a faltering one, and corporate profits and cash positions have remained in the upper hemisphere for months. Unemployment levels are slowly but surely falling, and consumers are continuing to spend. But, whether intentional or not, the financial news media has continued to report bearish sentiment. That is - until today.
According to a Bloomberg News report at market close -
U.S. stocks advanced, extending the best start to a year for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index since 1989, after a report showed that employment growth topped estimates and the jobless rate unexpectedly fell to 8.3 percentThe S&P 500 Index gained almost 32 basis points for the week, closing up 2.2% at 1345, and the Nasdaq Composite Index reached an 11-year high, closing up 3.2% at 2906. Wall Street is joyous!
But most importantly, and what's not being reported as having an impact on the markets, is the fact that this is an election year. There is absolutely no way that the current administration is going to let both the economy and the markets falter, and will continue to pull out all strings to ensure success.
I'm still bullish, holding long, and expecting even more gains to appear on the near-term horizon.
Related Links -
Briefing.com: Weekly Wrap for January 30, 2012
The Vanguard Group: Economic Week in Review
I think the Clint Eastwood/Chrysler Super Bowl commercial epitomizes what's transpiring in America right now.
ReplyDeleteOf course this advertisement is total bullshit, produced by a corporation only saved through a bailout by the American taxpayer, and likely doomed to fail again. But you see, it doesn't matter what "I" think. When I write about these things, it's not about me, it's about what I see happening throughout America.
This commercial is marketing in it's brilliance and the American sheeple will swallow it hook, line, and sinker. If I didn't already know better myself, I would have fallen for it's phony patriotic statement too.
But mark my words, regardless of it's self-serving corporate goal, it will strike a chord in the heart of the American public, and it will serve as a springboard for an attitude change amongst Americans and serve as a catalyst for a recovering economy.
What did I tell you? The Clint Eastwood video has gone viral and has been the talk of the town since halftime at the Super Bowl. And - a search of the various news sites today revealed this AP article being published throughout the news media.
ReplyDeleteDow approaches 13,000, and maybe a record to come
The majority of Americans remain dissatisfied with the way things are going in the U.S., but the percentage who are satisfied continues to increase. Satisfaction, now at 22%, is higher than at any point since last spring.
ReplyDeleteThe current results, based on a Feb. 2-5 Gallup poll, find satisfaction up significantly from December after slight increases each of the past two months.
Consumer confidence in the U.S. increased for a fourth straight week to reach the highest level in a year as more households believe the economy is improving.
ReplyDeleteSource: The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
Profits in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index are rising faster than its price, leaving the gauge 9 percent cheaper than it was in April even after American equities climbed within 6 points of last year's peak.
ReplyDeleteSource: S&P 500 Gets 9% Cheaper as Record Profit Restores $3.2 Trillion to Stocks
Gallup was able to bring the committee the good news that small-business owners are now more optimistic than they have been at any time since 2008, based on a new January Wells Fargo-Gallup Small Business Index poll.
ReplyDeleteSource: Time to Leverage Small-Business Owner Optimism
While the stock markets have been stalling lately, consumer confidence rose in May to the highest level in four years. Maybe they know something investors are missing?
ReplyDeleteThe Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary sentiment index for May climbed to 77.8, the highest since January 2008, from 76.4 the prior month. The gauge was projected to drop to 76, according to the median forecast of 68 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. For the first time since monthly data began in 1978, it advanced for a ninth-straight time.