Dow Off 77 on Consumer Data

It's Dow's best finish since 2008

(NEWSER) - Today's rosy jobs report did wonders for the markets. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, in fact, closed at an 11-year high, reports MarketWatch , while the Dow finished at its highest level since May 2008, notes the Wall Street Journal . The numbers:

• Dow: Up 157, 1.2%, to 12,862
• Nasdaq: Up 46, 1.6%, to 2,906
• S&P 500: Up 19, 1.5%, to 1,345

Fed says inflation on target, but unemployment high, growth sluggish

(NEWSER) - Don't get too excited about that pending economic rebound . The Federal Reserve's announcement it will keep interest rates super-low into 2014 is a key sign that the US economy is years away from truly recovering, reports the New York Times . Yes, the economy has picked up "moderately," said the Fed in a statement, but jobs are still scarce and growth is expected to be sluggish for the foreseeable future—2.7% in 2012, 3.2% in 2013, and perhaps as high as 4% in 2014. “What did we learn today? Things are bad, and they’re not improving at the rate that they want them to improve,” said the chief US economist at HSBC. More»

Market has its best day this month

(AP) - Encouraging signs out of Europe and a surprisingly strong report on the US housing market drove the Dow Jones industrial average up more than 330 points today. It was the best day for stocks this month. The Spanish government pulled off a successful debt auction, and gauges of business and consumer confidence in Germany rose unexpectedly. The Commerce Department, meanwhile, said builders broke ground on 685,000 new homes last month, a 9.3% jump from October. That's the highest level since April 2010. More»

Central banks and China make moves, private-sector employment jumps

(NEWSER) - The market took a major jump at open on the announcement that six central banks were moving to make it easier for European banks to get dollars, with the Dow rising 322 points to 11,877, reports the Wall Street Journal . As of 9:55am, it was up 405 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose as well, 32 and 69 points, respectively. The central banks' announcement was just one part of a trio of good economic news items, reports the Journal. More»

Dow drops triple digits

(NEWSER) - Stocks plunged at the opening bell today, thanks to the super committee's failure to reach a deal and the ongoing debt crisis in Europe. As of 9:37am, the Dow was down 158 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P were down 40 and 19 points, respectively, as investors bet that the US would suffer yet another credit rating downgrade. More»