DOW Exceeds 10,000 and Inspires Skeptical Optimism

October 2008 was the last time the DOW had reached 10,000 points. It's more than a year later and finally the DOW has had two consecutive days ending over 10,000. What does it all mean?

We all know that the DOW Jones is an indicator of our country's economic stability. I'm quite concerned with the DOW and it's performance, being my 401K ebbs and flows according to the success of the Stock Market. Is "The Great Recession" coming to an end? Personally, the Stock Market is too finicky of an indicator. I think Main Street's performance is much more reliable.

Unemployment? I would think that's a key indicator in how Main Street is performing. New York, Telco Depot's home state can boast a lower than national unemployment rate of 8.9%. Just 8.9%! Can you imagine such a percentage rate as being considered a good thing? To compare, the nationwide unemployment rate is hovering close to 10%.

Bloomberg Press on the otherhand, is reporting that first-time filings for unemployment benefits is down for the first time in nine months. Possibly an early sign of recovery. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Consumer Spending? Everything I have read, consumer spending is up. The government posted a 1.5% decline in retail sales for September. Most analysts agree this data is over inflated due to the end of the Cash for Clunkers incentive, which ended in August. Most analysts feel that consumer spending was up in September.

Home Sales? The Government (whether you like it or not) has stepped in with an $8000 tax credit for first time home buyers. Realtors everywhere seem to agree with the Nov. 30th deadline approaching that home sales are finally moving. The concern now seems to be whether or not to extend the incentive, since it is working at such a crucial time.

The above are the news bits and pieces that I found in doing just a few minutes of research.

My opinion? I think the DOW exceeding 10,000 has given skeptical optimism and hope to the average American. A close friend of mine, who is a day trader has overcome an entire month of losses in just 2 days.

Telco Depot, Corp. has had a very good week with an onslaught of new orders--is this a coincidence? If you're an SMB owner, what kind of effects have you seen? Is your company gaining hope?

Third quarter earnings reports are being posted for some very large companies like Google, who boasted a strong profit--what a shocker eh? Analysts are giving mixed messages about consumer spending over the holidays, but the majority seem to think sales will be higher than last year.

All of these indicators seem to come to the conclusion that Main Street is beginning to see the light at the end of a very long tunnel.