We're above 8000!!! Exciting and not-so-exciting news in the market today. The unemployment rate was released this morning, reaching 8.5%. That is an all-time high. These are truly unprecedented times. 663,000 jobs were lost in the month of March. Now, although this might sound bad--it is actually less than the market analysts had predicted. Could that be the reason the market closed up 39.51 points, or a half percentage, at 8017.59? Maybe. I, for one, am not authorized to give anything more than my opinion-but that's exactly what I am going to do...
-Ben Bernanke, in a speech this morning, defended the Fed's actions over the past few months
-The Treasury Department released developments about Obama's new bonds programs, which help local governments give assistance to their public schools with interest-free borrowings
-Unemployment ratesànot as bad as expected
-We are still unwinding from the G-20 Summit in London
-Bank Of America released the information that they are to pay $713 Million in TARP Dividends, which resulted in its stock price rising 7.55 points or 4.72%
So, are these the reasons for the rise in the market today? I can't say for sure. But I do know: they didn't hurt...
-Maggie Fiskow '10
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