Wall Street rallies on Obama stimulus plan and autos

[Mark E. Smith]

Source: Reuters

NEW YORK - U.S. stocks rose on Monday as investors bet that President-elect
Barack Obama's plan for major infrastructire investment would help avert a deeper
slump in the economy.

Shares of companies likely to be among the big beneficiaries of major construction
projects, including Cayerpillar Inc and chemical company DuPont, were standouts
along with shares of energy companies.

Investor sentitment also got a boost from signs that the Big Three automakers --
General Motors, Ford and Chrysler -- were closer to obtaining a government
financial lifeline to avert possible bankruptcy. GM jumped 13 percent and Ford
rose nearly 6 percent.

"With what Obama said at the weekend, that helped overseas markets and we're
seeing follow-through here in the U.S. as well," said Alan Lancz, president of
Alan B. Lancz & Associates Inc., an investment advisory firm in Toledo, Ohio.
"News of a strong stimulous is the reason you're seeing stocks of hard assets like
copper cement up."

Read more: http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/081208/business_us_marlets_stocks.html?.v=9

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Real leadership makes a big difference.

[Soylent Brice]

1. buckle up kiddies...

we're getting ready to put the pedal to the medal into the next century, FINALLY.

i've been screaming this to friends and family for years, EDUCATION IS THE KEY.

rebuiling the public education system will vastly improve our chances to compete internationally.

it's time to put the emphasis in the right areas. good on O.

[BelgianMadCow]

2. His emphasis on the rebuilding of SCHOOLS was an instant hit

with me

[Soylent Brice]

4. i saw this post and about fell out of my chair.

not out of shock that HE would do this, but that ANY president would.

he's going to definitely improve education.

[earthside]

3. Massive, Massive Public Debt ...

... will be like just a single fix to an junkie.

Unless there is structural change to our economic system, Obama's big spending program will only have a temporary effect.

Of course, if 'Wall Street' likes this kind of plan, we should certainly be skeptical -- they are the greediest and shortest term thinkers on the planet.

If Obama does not come up with a scheme to at least pay for a part of what he will be proposing, then the day will come when all the personal income tax revenue collected by the federal government will not pay the interest on the debt -- that means default and even harsher and more catastrophic pain.

I want to hear about closing military bases in Europe, ending Star Wars, terminating corporate welfare, rebuilding U.S. manufacturing (including tariffs if necessary) ... that more than a 1930s style spending plan is what will restore confidence and bring back our economy