WASHINGTON – After watching the Dow Jones fall below the 10,000-point mark for the first time in months markets rallied to end the week.  In the face of downwardly-revised GDP data, poor sales projections, and a cautious Federal Reserve, composites still jumped more than 1 percent overall.  The S&P 500 led the way with a 1.66 percent (17.37 points) increase.  The Dow Jones and NASDAQ each bumped up by 1.65 percent (164.84 and 34.94 points respectively). 

Unfortunately, according to CNNMoney.com, the outlook for the morning today is not so bright.  The same concerns that investors simply shook off last week seem to be having a crippling effect on afterhours and overnight futures today.  Around the world markets are having mixed results. 
 
According to MartketWatch, the all-important consumer spending numbers for July 2010 showed a 0.4 percent jump last month.  In our consumer driven economy only two things can drive growth; a complete overhaul of the entire economic system, or increased consumer spending.  The first option is by far the most preferable, but since encouraging spending is easy that is the route most Americans will take. 

An increase in spending is not necessarily a good thing.  Americans spent 0.4 percent more last month than they did over the prior period.  However, income only increased by 0.2 percent.  Americans are back to their old ways of spending more than they make. 

In other news, according to Reuters, President Obama is unhappy with the pace of economic growth in the United States.  The president had to make time this weekend to address real world concerns amid once again fielding questions on topics like his birth certificate and religious affiliation.  Nonetheless, when he was able to talk about substantive policy he expressed dismay about the rate of growth. 

The White House understands that there is no magic bullet out there waiting to be fired at the American economy.  The problems we have are systemic and pervasive.  It will likely take decades of perseverance to fully overcome the degradation we have witnessed over the last generation. 

Congressional midterm elections are just two months away and the American people want to see results from the party in power.  Unfortunately, there is nothing that the Democrats can do to calm the storm by their November 2 deadline.  The only thing that could spur growth in our economy is pointed government investment in certain job and industrial programs.  However, with Republicans successfully holding Washington hostage, it is unlikely that we will see any movement on that front any time soon.

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