[goldendays]

because the Federal Reserve and their buddies Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan Chase and other Wall Street heavyweights are propping the market up.

[Mr. Lucky]

...and why would that be?

[dartuser]

because the Federal Reserve and their buddies Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan Chase and other Wall Street heavyweights are propping the market up.

... as they slowly add to their short positions.

[rednek]

“because the Federal Reserve and their buddies Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan Chase and other Wall Street heavyweights are propping the market up.”

until they can get out, then the bottom will fall out and the suckers get screwed....red

[fightinJAG]

No. It's because at this point in history the real economy in the U.S. is "nothing" -- i.e., is largely irrelevant -- to the factors that drive the U.S. stock market.

Almost all corporations that showed good earnings last quarter -- and which, therefore, made the DJIA rise -- showed good earnings on overseas sales and operations.

If Caterpillar's plant and sales is going gangbusters in China, what happens in the U.S. real economy is not relevant to how much money Caterpillar makes and what it's stock goes for.