Posted on 10/24/2005 2:27:46 PM PDT by advance_copy
NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street staged an impressive rally Monday after the nomination of top White House economist Ben Bernanke as the next Federal Reserve chief, with the Dow Jones industrial average soaring nearly 170 points. Strong quarterly earnings from drugmakers and lower oil prices bolstered the gains.
Stocks were already advancing when news came that President Bush picked Bernanke, chair of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, to succeed Chairman Alan Greenspan when he retires in January. Bernanke was widely seen as continuing Greenspan's policy of fighting inflation.
Meanwhile, upbeat profit reports at Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp. eased earnings concerns prompted by Pfizer Inc.'s weak forecast last week. Encouraging results from American Express Co. late in the day also lifted stocks.
At the close of trading, the Dow climbed 169.78, or 1.66 percent, to 10,385.00, its largest single-day gain since a 206-point advance April 21.
Broader stock indicators also rose sharply.
(Excerpt) Read more at biz.yahoo.com ...
The yo-yo goes up, the yo-yo goes down.
I don't know much about the new Fed chief but if you're looking for investor proxies on him look no further than the bond and currency markets. Bonds and the dollar got slammed on this news.
While "real Conservatives" here on FR don't. Go figure.
Another 15% and the DJIA is back at its 2000 peak.
Anyone who fills a tank of gas, doesn't need the media to tell them which way the prices are swinging.
Looks like Wall Street knows more than some of the negative Freepers on here about the pick that came out immediately with the doom and gloom comments.
Looks like this new guy might be a bright spot on the horizion.
Let's hope.
I don't think you can conclude that "investors" don't like the new Fed chief because bonds and the dollar went down after the pick. What's good for stocks is not always good for bonds and visa-versa.
Let's hope the bright spot on the horizon is the sun coming up...not the sun going down.
Such a surprise.
I, for one, am shocked.
When the gas gets back to normal prices, Bush will get no credit. He only gets the blame when they shoot up. Screw the MSM.
Then he'll be blamed for the "recession" in the oil producing states.
LOL. Perfectly said and all too true.
All I know is the markets were jittery because this guy is supposedly an inflation dove. That's not good for the stock market in the long run.
You're soft in the head if you think we'll ever see $1.65/gallon again.
The only reason oil prices have fallen is that the oil barons are less "greedy" right now. When they get another attack of "greed", prices will go up to $5.00 / gallon.
Now if I can only figure out how to know when they feel "greedy" or not I can make a killing on the oil futures market!!
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Please keep the conspiracy theories and the anti BIG OIL rants on on your liberal democratic websites. They believe that stuff and ,like you, they don't have enough background in economics to appreciate the real reasons that oil prices fluctuate.
Keep it up. I want to retire in a few years.
Did I say $1.65 is normal for this day and age with China and India and the US creating larger demand by the day?
I'm thinking more like $1.90 would be normal. But if india or China go soft on demand, we'll see $1.65 again.
Bernanke is supposed to be for a weaker Dollar...which would explain why the Market rallied, as a weaker Dollar makes foreign imports more costly and less competitive with our domestic goods and services.
Foreign governments have propped up the Dollar for too long, anyway (60 years, really). It's high past time to take it back down to a realistic level.
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