[Mamzelle]

I have heard it said that the market is rising because the banks are buying equities instead of lending. Is that so? Is there any way to tell?

[Alberta's Child]

I'm not sure banks can even buy equities at all.

My guess is that the rise in the stock market is tied to genuine profitability at big U.S. companies -- mainly because in the face of declining sales figures these companies have actually been able to slash their costs to levels that more than make up for the lower sales figures.