Wall Street – finally – rises

It had to happen, sometime.

Wall Street picked up, overnight.

The Dow Jones industrial index closed 196.89  points higher at 11,022.06
The S&P 500 rose 23.31  points to 1,209.18
And the tech- heavy NASDAQ composite index rose 30.89 points to 2,186.57.
Oil futures rose $US1.88 to $US107.61
But there was little cheering.

So, what went right, for a change?

Approaching political agreement on Hank Paulson’s $US700 billion rescue plan helped.
The US President, George W Bush, tough warnings, in his grim speech to the nation, contributed.

His address to the nation was certainly serious.

And his assurance that he is prepared to accept tougher controls, over how the proposed $US700 billion, in Hank Paulson’s rescue plan, is spent, may have provided a little comfort, too.

So, too, would rumours of a likely interest rate cut, in the US.

However it was, President Bush’s grim warning:”That our entire economy is in danger,” would, undoubtedly, have concentrated most minds.