It has been almost two weeks since my last post.  Life has been exceedingly busy, what with the day job and launching Harriet’s  ebook on the market. So now I can take a breath and think about the markets.

Since Friday the 17th the DJIA has risen 350 points, the S&P500 38 and the FTSE 157.  What is the reason for this exuberance? Make that unjustified exuberance.

Headlines on the last few days include:
Regulators shut 7 more banks, boosting total to 64
Caterpillar 2Q profit falls 66% on weak demand
US Home prices drop 5.6% in May from year ago on job losses
Jobless checks for millions delayed as states struggle
US consumer confidence drops in July – etc etc

But the market seems to have blinkers on and can only see that banks and a few other sections made better than expected profits for the quarter.  Then there is the “swine flu” panic.  The pharmaceutical companies are having a bonanza. (How did this virus get released?) Hmmm…

I’ll catch up again on Sunday.