Nice News

After reading this article yesterday, I was left feeling fairly pessimistic about the state of the economy.  I'm still concerned (and I know I am not alone in feeling that way) but for the moment at least, things are looking up.  Let's keep fingers crossed and pray to all of our assorted Deities that it is a signal of a turning tide:

Stocks Surge on Bank Hopes, Econ. Data
Tuesday April 1, 11:42 am ET
By Joe Bel Bruno, AP Business Writer

Wall Street Surges on UBS and Lehman Brothers Stock News, Better-Than-Expected Economic Data

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street kicked off the second quarter with a big rally Tuesday on rising hopes that banks slammed by the credit crisis are working through their problems. A report that U.S. manufacturing is faring better than expected last month also sent stocks higher and helped propel the Dow Jones industrials up more than 250 points.

Financial stocks were among the big winners after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Switzerland's UBS AG issued new stock to help bolster their balance sheets. With that upbeat news and the second quarter ahead of them, investors appear quite willing to make some bets that the worst of the damage from the credit crisis has been felt. Moreover, the moves buttressed the view that financial services companies are taking aggressive action to improve their capital bases and stave off the potential of a collapse similar to Bear Stearns Cos.

Analysts believe there must be a recovery in bank and brokerage stocks to lead major stock indexes higher. Some of the biggest financial players had their biggest moves this year -- Citigroup Inc. shot up 9 percent, JPMorgan Chase & Co. rose 6.7 percent, and Lehman surged 11 percent.

"This is a nice way to begin the second quarter," said Todd Leone, managing director of equity trading at Cowen & Co. "All the financials are up big, and there's a sense that things are turning. We definite have not seen the last of the credit crisis, but we're getting closer."

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Comments

[AndyJ]

Focus on the positive. 1) employment is over 95% 2) ontime mortgage payments are over 90% 3) demand for basic goods and services is high 4) cutting back on cradit will affect those with poor credit and low cash, not necessarily a bad thing 5) changes in the financial markets are already taking place. Adam Smith's invisible hand is reducing values of houses, land and other secure assets not supported by owners 6) vulture funds are being released to take advantage of distressed properties 7) new opportunities will arise as soon as the bad has been devoured 8) Imports and exports are still flowing at a high level 9) Dollar will rise as soon as the Fed starts swapping gold for dollars and soaks up some of the surplus paper floating around the world 10) high prices for oil are not the end of the world, just a change in habits. Less traffic, fewer repair bills, fewer new cars, more ar pooling, better economics and ecology, faster deliveries of goods and services due to reduced traffic... Things are bad, but more things are hood. Good times come and go just as the bad times. Bad times hang around a shorter time than good...

It could always be worse and even then it would still be good...