Dow turns positive for the year as investors bet on recovery

[Scurrilous]

Source: USA Today

<snip>

"The black-and-blue Dow blue chips are finally back in the black for the year.

On March 9, the Dow Jones industrial average was in freefall, awash in a pool of financially murderous red ink. And investors' imaginations mirrored the bleak performance by conjuring up scary images of the iconic stock index tumbling to zero, as in Dow 0, opposed to Dow 10,000.

Since then, the Dow — and the entire U.S. stock market — has basically shot up in a straight line. Stocks have risen at the fastest clip in the first 90 days after a bear market bottom since the Depression-era 1930s, historical stock charts show.

Indeed, the Dow's 34.4% sprint off of its March 9 low has erased a 25% hole it dug for itself earlier in 2009 — and puts it back in positive territory for the year for the first time since the first week in January."



Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/money/markets/2009-06-12-stocks-friday_N.htm

[BulletproofLandshark]

1. I'll feel better when the unemployment numbers show similar improvement. n/t

[Auggie]

2. That's good news, though the second half of the credit crisis is about to begin

with Option ARMs

From wealthdaily.com

"It shouldn't come as a shock when mountainous Option ARM and Alt-A loans begin resetting and the second leg of the credit crisis begins.

Alt-A loans were given to borrowers with credit scores of between 620 and 700, and included the option of interest-only loans, option ARMs, and no documentation loans that required little if any documentation for loan approval. Ninety percent of those that got an Option ARM in 2006 provided little or no documentation.

Ninety percent!

It's estimated that only 60% of Option ARM borrowers make only minimum monthly payments. Others estimate that up to 80%. Could it be we've just entered the second half of the credit crisis?

Just as 2008 was the year of subprime woes, this one will go down as the year of Option ARM resets (or adjustable rate mortgage resets). With billions in Option ARMs resets in 2009 and 2010, this crisis is about to unleash a fury no one's prepared for. It won't be as bad as subprime, of course. It'll be worse."

http://www.wealthdaily.com/articles/option-arm-reset/1678

-----------------------------------------

I'm yanking my money out of the market in a few weeks.

[lib2DaBone]

3. Recovery...ROFL.. that's a good one.....

$31 Trillion in Derivitives about to implode with Commercial Real Estate.... and Gas going to $4 a gallon.... No Jobs... ha ha ha ha ha ha... we're having fun now...