Dow Rises Above 9,000 as Home Sales Jump

[steven johnson]

Source: New York Times

Published: July 24, 2009
Markets on Wall Street and in Europe jumped higher on Thursday, with the Dow pushing past 9,000 for the first time since early January.

Thursday's push was fueled by some better-than-expected earnings reports, including one from the Ford Motor Company, and the latest government report on housing, which said that the sale of existing home rose 3.6 percent in June, the third consecutive monthly increase.

Ford, meanwhile, surprised Wall Street somewhat by reporting a $2.3 billion profit in the second quarter, mostly because of cash gains from debt restructuring.

Excluding the one-time items, Ford would have lost $638 million, or 21 cents a share, still a significant improvement from the $1.4 billion that it lost on continuing operations a year ago and less than half the loss analysts were expecting.





Read more: www.nytimes.com/2009/07/24/business/24markets.html -

---

Finally, some indication the recession is abating.

[snappyturtle]

1. Well, I guess this is encouraging. I wonder if the rise in existing home

sales is due to sales in the foreclosure market.

[bobburgster]

2. Should no....Morning Joe et el

wrong again predicting the market would go down today. Oh, that's right Jim Kramer was on today.

[TheWatcher]

3. Yes, the Unemployment Numbers seem to suggest that as well.

:sarcasm:

But, I know, The Stock market is the leading economic indicator.

"Excluding the one-time items, Ford would have lost $638 million, or 21 cents a share, still a significant improvement from the $1.4 billion that it lost on continuing operations a year ago and less than half the loss analysts were expecting."

One Time Items this, one time Items that. AT&T at $2.20 a share before their "Mythical One Time Items" is 15X at 33.

A 3.6% increase in home sales being called beating expectations? 3.6% is basically unchanged. But the TV and CNBC will croak to us about is the massive boom, which is being caused by rampant speculation and the government making the down payment for the next wave of foreclosures.

Once again Goldman Sachs Loads it's Boat, The Criminals do more distribution to The Sheep, the Market is manipulated nicely above a Number that will numb the Sheep, and The Recession is abating.

Still no jobs though. But it's a Jobless Recovery!

Also ignore that most of this BS is about 70% Program Trading in the seasonally weakest volume time of the year.

New Economy = dot com bubble
New New Economy = housing bubble
New New New Economy = Goldman Sachs bubble

meanwhile the Real Economy?.....

Ah, that doesn't matter. Let's FEEL GOOD!

Down 9000 FTW!!!!!!!!1111111111111111111111111111111111111111

[mbperrin]

4. Yet home sales are under same month year ago figures.

So yeah, ponies all around for the sucker rally!

Don't get caught!

[TheWatcher]

5. Shhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! You're blowing everyone's High!

And WHATEVER you do, don't mention the Unemployment Numbers.

How can we have a Jobless Recovery if The Real Economy Improves?

JUST PLAY ALONG!

And don't mention Rising Gas Prices, Oil Prices, or Food Prices Either.

[mbperrin]

7. Heck, I wasn't even going to mention Texas running out of money for

jobless benefits yesterday.

You're right! Mum's the word!

[mullard12ax7]

6. Foreclosures and lying corporations don't equal a recovery

But you go right ahead and believe it, I'm sure you will. After all, why believe people when there's corporate propaganda? Surely Goldman Sachs wouldn't lie, or would a glorious publication like The NYT. We can all trust realtors and their associations too, that's been proven over the years, LOL.

[rhett o rick]

8. Wall Street isn't an accurate measure of the health of our economy.

I believe the market goes up when unemployment goes up.

[sledgehammer]

9. It is one measure, and a decent one

Maybe not necessarily the Dow, but broad-based indices like S&P 500 are a good measure. Markets react to various reports/figures, such as jobs, housing, consumer confidence, retail sales, manufacturing output, etc.

Stock markets don't reflect the current situation, but the future trend (they are forward-looking). So if the markets are up, then it is an indication that the overall economy is likely to improve in the near future. Just like the crash in Sept/Oct last year was not preceded by massive job cuts, but followed by it.

That said, totally agree that unemployment is a huge measure of recovery. And I won't believe in a true recovery until unemployment starts ticking downwards.

[AlphaCentauri]

23. I'm fascinated how wealth is created by reactions of the market (speculation)

not by producing goods

[rhett o rick]

24. The stock market is the biggest fraud perpetrated on the general public.

It is gambling like the horse races. The money manipulators make fortunes on the market bubbles at the expense of the gullible public.

[Hugabear]

28. Bingo!

I've been saying this for awhile. Want REAL economic improvement? For EVERYONE, not just the wealthy elite? Abolish the stock market, do away with large multi-national corporations. Prohibit companies from outsourcing jobs. Guarantee the right of ALL workers to form unions.

[rhett o rick]

29. Bingo yourself. nm

[Curtland1015]

36. Yeah, that'll happen... in communist RUSSIA!

DAMN COMMIE! Say hi to Vlad for me!

:P

[sarcasmo]

38. Right on, one big fraud.

[sledgehammer]

27. It's not very hard to understand

If you own a home, and suddenly something positive happens in the neighborhood, then the value of your home goes up.

Nothing changed in the house itself - same materials, same finishings, same layout, same yard, etc. But there's a perception of better value i.e. a person who owns the home will have better "returns" (tangible and intangible).

Similarly, a stock price fluctuates on perception. Stock price is theoretically the summation of the stock's dividends to infinity. So the perception/speculation is that a certain stock will have an increased/decreased value of dividends if someone owns it. Hence the price goes up/down. This speculation is based on many factors, such as industry reports, financial results, overall environment, consumer habits, etc.

[AlphaCentauri]

30. I can understand that, but what is the benefit to society?

the fact that a selected group can gamble and speculate with money while the rest of the society will bail them out when needed and that sector of the society can't afford health care or higher education, doesn't make any sense.

[rhett o rick]

32. It's a tool for the greedy wealthy to fleece the gullible middle class. nm

[sledgehammer]

33. My comment had nothing to do with....

...bailouts, healthcare, or education.

My point is that the stock market is a forward-looking indication of the perceived value of the overall health of the economy. A stronger market usually indicates that investors (or gamblers if you prefer) are betting that the dividends from a particular company's stock will increase/decrease in the near future.

Manipulation and speculation is definitely there, and I think idiots like Jim Cramer and other "analysts" have made it abundantly clear.

However, outside of bubbles (e.g. Tech in late 90s and housing in last few years), the stock market has been a reliable indicator. Opposing sides of speculation often even out.

[sledgehammer]

34. And...

...the benefit to society (in theory) is that tens of millions invest in stocks/funds through their 401ks/529s and other investment tools in order to take advantage of a healthy economy.

The recent crashes have slapped us in the face with reality, and the failure of analysts to predict anything correctly.

But still, given a choice, most employees will invest their money in stocks/funds rather than fixed interest or other tools. The latter are laughing at the former now though! :)

[rhett o rick]

31. Well put. And a lot of the speculation is manipulated as that idiot on CNBC admitted. nm

[Sgent]

11. Its a leading indicator

so it indicates (usually) where the economy will be in 6 mos.

Unemployment on the other hand is a lagging indicator. It won't pick up until the economy is already at full speed ahead, and it tends to not go down until after the economy has been in bad straits for 6 mos or so.

[4lbs]

10. This is nice, but I want to know how much of this $2+ billion profit for the quarter came from

worker layoffs.

If say, 25,000 people lost their jobs at Ford Motor in the same time period, take 25,000 times $60K (the salary estimate of an auto worker with benefits), and subtract that from the profit number. That will tell you much 'profit' actually came from sales, and not by cutting payroll.

[rhett o rick]

12. All that shows is that the stimulus package has re-established the America confidence

that the bubble we call our economy is back. This confidence will last until the public figures out it was more smoke and mirrors. Unless we start manufacturing in this country and get our trade balanced, this bubble will crash harder than before.

I see the stock market as one giant pyramid scheme.

[TheWatcher]

13. A sane voice, and a sane line of reasoning, but I'm afraid it's mostly going to fall on deaf ears

Outside of the SMW thread.

The biggest problem is Americans would rather feel good and have their fake bubble than have a Real, Functioning, Economic System.

They love the quick fix, the quick buck, and the quick return.

Then when the consequences hit, the bubble collapses, they beg the people that got them addicted to the drug to save them from their addiction, by bailing out the CRIMINALS who supplied the drug that CREATED the Crisis, at THE PEOPLE'S expense, and the Criminals laugh all the way to their Zombie Banks, and the people suffer the consequences, which they then say don't exist.

Then the whole cycle starts over again.

This appears to be what the People WANT.

I don't like it anymore than you do.

The People don't seem to want their country back.

They can't be bothered.

They'd rather have bubbles, false paradigms, and shiny.

All you have to do is look at the reaction to today's Market Numbers.

People are ASLEEP.

And they want to stay in Dreamland.

[rhett o rick]

14. You called me "sane" as if it was a good thing. Personally, I think it is highly overrated.

Sadly I agree with your post. People want quick fixes, instant gratification, and willing to sell their souls for it.

The stock market is one of the best frauds perpetrated on the American public. Bet your life savings on the stock market not the horse races.

[TheWatcher]

20. Being "sane" these days is a path that only leads to frustration, isolation, and ostricization.

I am beginning to understand why Ignorance Is TRULY Bliss, because although the Cheerleaders annoy the Hell out of me, they sure do feel good, it seems.

I don't know what is wrong with people Rick, I really don't.

they don't seem to understand that in order to have a REAL Economy, you have to have real, fundamental, SUSTAINABLE growth, jobs, and a foundation that is built on something real.

You cannot have that when your country is based on Artificial, Bubble, Ponzi Economic Structures, a devaluing currency in the face of rising inflation, lowering wages, increasing unemployment that is spiraling out of control, a phantom Service based Economic Model that produces next to nothing, and an all but disappeared manufacturing base.

What these idiot Sheep and Cheerleaders are Cheerleading FOR is their own destruction and their own economic demise, because they are hoping for another Bubble.

The Bubble of the late 90's was obvious to all, but what these people do not seem to get is that when it collapsed it begat the environment of '02-'08 WHICH WAS ALSO ANOTHER BUBBLE. The Real Economy did not change that much and the decline into Recession actually started WAY before the Collapse last September.

but The Media Propped Up The Economy, as did the Fed and Wall Street with their fake Bubblenomics and Propaganda, and did so RIGHT UP UNTIL THE COLLAPSE, and then threw up their arms and said "Who Could Have Forseen?....."

THEN, The Criminals Bail themselves out at the taxpayer's expense, and are now in the process of looting and stealing EVERYTHING that isn't nailed down. Citi has been Insolvent for MONTHS. the Banks have derived these Phantom Profits through mark-To-Make-Believe Accounting.

And the Dumbass Public just sits, there, drools, takes in the Propaganda and watches the Stock market numbers and the Fake Government Data, and feels good, and acts like they know something.

This Country is TERMINAL.

All this is is YET ANOTHER BUBBLE that the VAST Majority of the General Public will not even get to participate in, but they will sit there and believe in it anyway, even as the country and it's infrastructure crumble around them.

And if you try to tell them differently you will be shunned, mocked, and met with vitriol and hostility.

I am starting to believe that they LIKE The Abuse. The LOVE being Conned, They LOVE Being Lied to, and They LOVE being taken.

And they HATE you for trying to save them.

You're right. Sanity is for The Birds.

And it sucks.

[rhett o rick]

22. I have been working on trying to figure it out. Why are people as you describe them?

As I see it, we've been bombarded with propaganda since birth.
Material goods will bring happiness.
The rich are rich because they are successful.
Emulate the rich.
Forgive the rich.
Blame someone else for your failures.

Also, the smaller your reality box the easier life is. (The is the ignorance is bliss)
Religions helps keep you reality box small.
Science, education and intellect uncomfortably challenges your reality box limits.

Rambling

Everyone wants to catch the bubble. And they are too stupid to recognize that the "catching the bubble" game is rigged.

I would like to continue our discussion.

rhett

[Arkana]

15. No comment.

Let's see in the next few weeks if the trend continues, though. It's encouraging, at the very least.

[Ichingcarpenter]

16. The repossessed homes are now at a bargain.... new building data info is lacking

My condo was a good bargain for an investor after it got reposed but not for a X middle class ass hole like me, The data is suspect stated in this article
........... you want to say things are good?

How can the newly millions of unemployed buy things? ,....................... the mega rich are picking up the pieces

The consolidation of power is going on.

This is article is bullshit, the rich are still getting richer and the middle class is dying..

[tomreedtoon]

17. What's good for Wall Street is ALWAYS bad for Americans.

Every time I see the Dow Jones rise, I know someone's lost his job or someone's been disposessed. Wall Street loves it when we suffer. The DJIA has no relation to how well American industry is working. It only shows the happiness of Scrooge and Potter (the old greedy guy in the wheelchair) that another American worker has been handed a coil of rope and told to wander into the woods.

[AnneD]

35. Back when CEO's use to think beyond the next quarters profit,,,,

and really grow a business-a layoff was view as poor management and a stock would go down. Attitudes changed after Carter. It was all about profit not the business. Our captains of industry care only about what they can take from the company-not the harder work of growing a business.

We need a new generation of real businessmen and entrepreneurs. Preferably some that have not been corrupted by The Chicago School, Harvard , or any number of these 'modern' schools of business.

[tomreedtoon]

37. Thanks. You hit the time line precisely.

I didn't think about it in time lines - and I didn't associate it with Carter per se, but you're right.

I have to wonder, though, if this "business school" approach was done in reaction to Carter. The Right seemed to think he was a weak sister, a religious fool, and a lot of other stupid things. Did they organize and enforce a philosophy of greed in reaction to him? Or to the bad treatment of Ford? That's a whole different question.

[AnneD]

39. No.... Specifically when Reagan et all took over the GOP.....

His reaction and busting PATCO is what embolden business leaders to begin the whole sale disregard of labour. They could do anything to labour and do it with impunity . Let me put it this way...If the miners were striking and the coal company sent in armed men to shoot at the miners and their families....the government under Reagan would have sent in the National Guard in to protect the security guards.

[hamerfan]

18. The Dow is +200 today.

All that means to me is, more than likely, the Dow will be -200 tomorrow. Where's P.T. Barnum these days? He'd be lovin' it!
hamerfan

[TheWatcher]

19. As Harvey Keitel would say in Pulp Fiction:

"Well, Gentlemen, Let's Not Start Sucking Each Other's Dicks Just Yet....."

Soft PC sales send Microsoft profit down 29 pct

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Soft-PC-sales-send-Micros...



Soft PC sales send Microsoft profit down 29 pct

Microsoft says profit drops 29 percent, posts first full-year drop in sales since 1986


SEATTLE (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. said Thursday its profit in the last quarter plunged 29 percent because of weak computer sales, ending a fiscal year in which the software maker's revenue fell for the first time since the company went public in 1986.


Microsoft's revenue in the quarter was well short of analysts' expectations, and its shares plummeted $2, or 7.8 percent, to $23.56 in after-hours trading. Before the earnings report the stock had gained 3.1 percent to close at $25.56.

Hope You Suckers Didn't buy At the Top :rofl:

The results reflected how Microsoft's fortunes are tied to the PC industry, which is expected to sell fewer computers this year than last -- the first such decline since 2001. Many buyers are holding on to their existing machines for longer than normal, partly to save money in the recession and partly because Microsoft is releasing a new operating system Oct. 22. Among consumers, the hottest segment of the PC market is in low-cost "netbooks," which run Windows XP -- a lower-profit product for Microsoft.

"We are a stronger company than we were a year ago," Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said in a conference call. "However, the economy continues to be challenging and we need to lift our game to another level in fiscal 2010."

Microsoft's earnings in the last quarter, which ended June 30, sank to $3.05 billion, or 34 cents per share. In the same period last year it earned $4.3 billion, 46 cents per share.

Ever notice how this stuff always comes out AFTER The Bell?

9000, we hardly knew ye.

[PSPS]

21. What a load

The stock market is merely a casino, gamed by insiders who trade on private information and, through their shills on TeeVee, employ the old "pump 'n' dump" to rake in those sucker dollars.

The "Home Sales Jump" is pure lying PR put out by the National Association of Realtors -- also one of the largest purchasers of media advertising. The numbers always go up in this season, so this isn't news. The real indicator is year-over-year sales and, for that accurate measurement, the figures are down from last year. So much for the "BUY!! THIS IS THE BOTTOM!11!11!" nonsense. Property values are still going down nationwide (as they should be.) We've still got almost a trillion dollars worth of Option ARM's being recast now through 2012, most of which will end up as foreclosures (as they should.)

Unemployment is still rising and wages are still going down. The economy is nowhere near any kind of "recovery" at all.

[yellowcanine]

25. But unemployment is a "lagging indicator"! Doesn't that make it easier when you get the pink slip?

I know it would for me. I have always wanted to be a lagging indicator.

[Dulcinea]

26. Me too!

I'm not unemployed, I'm a lagging indicator!

All this means nothing to me until Americans start getting decent jobs. It's all just numbers in a database until then.