About That Rally

I thought I'd better point out something about the recent rally following news of the administration's "bank bailout" plan, as I see that the media is, of course, touting that as a measure of approval of their bold, wondrous leadership (nevermind that they never use drops as marks of disapproval).

You might recall the precipitous plunge in the markets that accompanied their first attempt. It was back on Feb. 10 when Geithner the tax cheat finally gave his much-ballyhooed and anticipated plan to a then more-wary and skittish investing world...remember, this was the BIG SPEECH that was going to clear up what they were going to do so that traders could plan for the future, the BIG SPEECH that had actually been delayed for days so as not to have the big news step on other big news.

The Dow opened at 8,269.36 and the S&P at 866.87.

They closed at 7,888.88 and 827.16, drops of 4.6% for each market.

When they finally presented their plan it was Mar. 23.

The Dow opened at 7,279.25 and the S&P at 772.31.

They closed at 7,775.86 and 822.92, daily gains of 6.8% and 6.6%, respectively. Certainly good gains for a day. Those 6.5+% gains are what the media wants you to focus on.

But, even if you take into account the temporary surge created on the 23rd...how much did the administration's delay cost the markets?

Even with a 6.8% surge on the 23rd, the Dow was still 6% lower than before they started bumbling.

Even with a 6.6% surge on the 23rd, the S&P was still 5.1% lower than before they started bumbling.

But, you know, they agree that you shouldn't look at just a one day rise or fall in the market, right?

Sure.