Stephanopolous, USAToday Agree: Obama Caused Stock Market Rally and Solid Black Friday Sales

Stephie:

President-elect Obama also said this week in a series of press conferences that he held Monday through Wednesday on the economy and laying out his economic team. You got to give him credit for one thing at least: ever since the leak of Tim Geithner as Treasury Secretary at 3:00 last Friday, the Dow has gone up 17%, the S&P has gone up 19%. So at least there's been a vote of confidence in the markets for president-elect Obama…And Black Friday, that’s exactly right, sales up three percent surprisingly on Black Friday. So, is this about the Obama economic team?

USAToday:

President-elect Barack Obama hasn't even moved into the White House yet. But Wall Street is already showering him with praise for injecting confidence into the battered psyche of investors and working quickly to hosta a plan meant to jolt the economy out of its worst funk in decades.

A market that two weeks ago was desperate for political leadership and a clear strategy to repair the economy appears to have found it in Obama, who is fast emerging as a decisive economic commander in chief.

Stocks soared last week after Obama moved aggressively to fill the power vacuum until he's sworn in and demonstrated his commitment to dig the USA out of its economic rut.

Newsbusters comments:

How did USA Today determine that Wall Street is "showering" Obama with praise? Easy. They found two people who have good things to say about him. Harris Private Bank's chief investment officer opines that Obama has been "a solid force behind the recent moves in the stock market." And a hedge fund manager believes "the market is thinking that Obama will put a fix to (the economy)."

The Lightworker is truly a remarkable fellow. As that second Newsbusters link notes, the markets have experienced the greatest post-election sell-off in history, and a loss in the DOW of 1,100 points since his election.

But he's not responsible for any of that of course -- only the upticks get credited to him. Even when the genera trajectory is down.

Down 450 points? That's the Bush recession. Up 200 points? That's the Obama effect. Down again 600 points? Bush. Up 150? Lightworker.

Of course the main reason the markets perked at all was the Citigroup bailout. The market always goes up on news of a bailout (and then down in the next several days). The effect is not a persistent one. But there is an effect... and as far as I know it's still the Bush Administration making calls on bailouts.

The Dow just dropped another 680 points, the 4th biggest drop on record.

Hmmmm.... Bush recession or Obama Effect? So hard to tell, huh?

In related news, the sun will disappear from the skies tonight, smothering the world with darkness and cold. Bush's fault.

Have no fear, however: At approximately 6:42 ET (check your local weather stations), Obama shall make it rise once more. He says he'll make it rise in the east, as a special bonus to those Northeastern states that voted for him so solidly.

posted by Ace at 05:18 PM

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