The Economy is up for one week or one month and that's suppose to make a difference?

[The Backlash Cometh]

I can't believe how much they're plugging the "great" economy we're having as a plus for the Republicans. Who's really feeling the upside of this "great" economy? Sales cycles for high ticket items sometimes take three to six months to close, so many people in sales, won't even feel the upside right now, not until they close the sales, and that's not going to happen for a few more months.

We've seen it before. It's easy to manipulate the stock market to make things look like we're digging out, but then the election day passes, and suddenly the stock market crashes, or "corrects itself" as they euphemistically say. It happened the first time that Bush became president. The spin was that the market was going extremely well because people thought Bush would be president, then once he was definitely in, the market dropped something like 250 points...in one day!

Has anyone actually gone in to see who and how the market is being manipulated?

[BruceMcF]

1. The Dow Jones uptick is meaningless ...

... on its own. First, when S&P and Nadaq and the Dow all move together, and especially if they all hit new records, that would be one thing. However, when the Dow moves to a record on its own, without the other indices, that doesn't mean nearly as much. And that's the current situation.

Second, look at the total gain over the length of the recovery, correct for inflation, and convert it into an annual yield. You won't see a very big bang at all for the Republican "buck passes here".

[Double T]

2. EVERYTHING is being manipulated by bushco's corporate backers.....

energy prices SUDDENLY DOWN, stock market SUDDENLY UP above 12,000, MSM SUDDENLY telling us rethugs are back in the election and the rethugs are SUDDENLY pulling ahead, the 'war' in Iraq is SUDDENLY going well and the Iraqis are SUDDENLY going to be ready to takeover the policing of their own country, etc., etc., etc.,.....??? ANYBODY NOTICE a pattern that DOESN'T ADD UP or MAKE ANY SENSE????? rethugs are expert liars and do IT with a straight face.

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. what a coinky-dinky, eh?

[ThomWV]

3. Its Certainly Not Up For Everyone

If you are a retiree who had some sort of pension that was invested in the market it means you are back to about where you were in 2000. Unfortunately by any working person's standards this newfound economic recovery has no real meaning. Companies are earning more in real terms to be sure, but that doesn't mean the company's employee's are earning more in real terms. When record profits are eaten up in top Officer's outrageous increases in pay, the expense of golden parachutes unimagined by even the most greedy a decade ago, dividend payouts (which certainly have not increased with the rapidity of profits), and the increased cost of greasing political palms there is precious little left to share with the employees. Indeed employees seem to be the most expendable cog in the machinery of todays business; look at outsourcing.

[skids]

4. real income has dropped by $3,000 since 2000

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2577481&mesg_id=2577524
http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_viewpoints_economy_onthe_table

[blues90]

5. The economy is in the crapper

I don;t care what is said about how great the economy is . How can this be when so many jobs have been outsourced or downsized or closed down .
If you are one of the millions working for min wage at some crap job does anyone thing for a second these people follow the stock market ?

It is one sick joke . there are less jobs and more people out of work than ever and when they say 4.5% include the multitude of new people joining the work force and the people counted are only the ones getting the 6 month allowed unemployment . Jobs at fast food chains or wal-mart are not jobs people can live off of and how many jobs are created that include private corps in the military business or are american based companies who have their products made in china but the jobs are conted as new jobs here and who would know .

I don;t trust anything but what i see and what I see are no new jobs but rather a swill of made up figures .

[Joe for Clark]

7. I have very rarely seen a market as overbought as the dow is

right now. It is actually scary to me.

It has gone almost vertical up. ALL the rsi and stochastic measures are almost off the chart (not good).

There are 13 or 14 specialists making market on the dow 30 - there is no way they are not short on their books right now.

I do believe markets can be manipulated - I think the scary thing is - if it is, it is probably not just for an election. It is for profit. Specialists do not lose money in a swing - kind of impossible since they are the market.

There is kind of a bet in my circles - do they kill it before the election and blame it on the prospects of a dem congress? Or after.

I agree with your point.

Joe