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Monday, March 23, 2009

Market Rallies for Big Gain

Wall Street got the news it wanted on the economy's biggest problems — banks and housing — and celebrated by hurtling the Dow Jones industrials up nearly 500 points. Investors added rocket fuel Monday to a two-week-old advance, cheering the government's plan to help banks remove bad assets from their books and also welcoming a report showing a surprising increase in home sales. Major stock indicators surged more than 6 percent, including the Dow, which had its biggest percentage gain since October.

Although analysts were still hesitant to say Wall Street is squarely on its way to recovery after the collapse that began last fall, they said the banking and housing news bolstered the belief that the economy is starting to heal.

"It's just hard to argue that there isn't an improvement in economic activity on the horizon," said Jim Dunigan, executive vice president at PNC Wealth Management. - ABC News Story

People will argue that the big news of the day was the bailout of the Banks bad assets, but I would beg to differ. The big news of the day was the unexpected rise in home sales.

I think that is more behind the drive of the Market than the bailout announcement. Either way a good day on Wall Street is a good day for most Americans. 401 K's go up, investments recover, people feel good.

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