Dow 10,000: Better This Time Around?

As we all know, this isn’t the first time the market has crossed the sacred 10,000 mark. These big round numbers are no different than the small boring numbers, but for some reason people get all excited every time we cross through one. If anything, it lends credence to the theory that human psychology is irrational and the fact that these numbers actually influence buying/selling means the market is equally irrational. But I digress…..

So, here we are, donning our Dow 10,000 party hats version 2.0. But just how is the America of Dow 10,000 version 1.0 when compared to the Dow 10,000 version 2.0? Cody Willard at Fox Business sends us these excellent thoughts on the apples to oranges comparison:

The first time we crossed this 10k threshold, the biz headlines included Microsoft defending itself against Netscape/DoJ, the Fed Funds rate was at 4.75%, unemployment was at 4.4%, our national public debt stood at about $6.5 trillion and Lil Timmy Geithner was Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs (1998–2001) under Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers. Summers was his mentor, but other sources call him a Rubin protégé.

This time as we pass the mark, the business headlines include stories of housing’s supposed recovery and the suspected end of the recession, the Fed Funds rate is at 0.00%, unemployment has spiked to 9.8%, our national public debt is over $11 trillion, and Ben Bernanke’s been reappointed to his post as Fed Head by the latest President from the Republican/Democrat Regime.

Seemed like we were in a better spot 10 years ago, no? Gulp.

We won’t get away from 10k til we get away from these people and the policies who’ve kept us here.

Couldn’t agree more, Cody….

Comments

[Just checkin:]

This is the 3rd time we've hit Dow 10,000.....

Oct 15 01:06 AM

[Moon Kil Woong:]

Well with Fed funds rates at zirp it's hard to find anywhere else to put your money, especially when the value of everything you have is falling with the demise of the dollar. If this is what the Federal Reserve and Treasury want they sure have got it. GDP is now bolstered by trllions in America's assets devaluating all at once withthe dollars fall. No wonder no foreigner wants to buy our bonds.

Oct 15 01:56 AM

[mrdirt:]

DOW only represents 30 stocks. Comparing the DOW to 10yrs ago is like comparing apples to oranges. Using the companies in the DOW 10 yrs ago how
many are still on the DOW. GM and Citigroup are gone. The broader indexes
such as the Russell 5000 and S & P 500 are much more meaningful gauge
the

Oct 15 08:15 AM

[debtacid:]

Gee, all those insiders who bailed out recently must be kicking themselves and frantically getting back in. NOT!

Oct 15 09:40 AM

[jerrydd:]

It's really far worse as real inflation has been over 100% in that time so the $ and the Dow is only worth 50% as much. Are the repubs great or what? Let's vote them back in!! ;^P

Oct 15 09:57 AM

[AndrewBaker:]

On Oct 15 01:06 AM Just checkin wrote:

> This is the 3rd time we've hit Dow 10,000.....

... and it won't be the last either!

Oct 15 10:36 AM

[Daniel Eskin:]

As a matter of fact, I just read from Howard Lindzon's tweet that the DOW passed 10,000 fifty times in the decade since the DOW first passed 10,000. Kinda cool if you want to analyze movement =)

Check out my blog at: www.youngandinvested.com


On Oct 15 01:06 AM Just checkin wrote:

> This is the 3rd time we've hit Dow 10,000.....

Oct 15 11:58 AM