Wall Street surged to end the week last Friday closing up nearly 1 percent overall. The NASDAQ led the way with a 1.05 percent (23.58 points) increase. The Dow Jones (0.99 percent, 102.32 points) and S&P 500 (0.82 percent, 8.99 points) followed closely behind.

According to CNNMoney.com, the morning today will be dictated by the outcome of corporate earnings and a report on new home sales. This should be enough to keep markets from moving significantly until later in the day. Unfortunately, European markets edged lower during their trading day leaving the U.S.-based investors to deal with poor bank performances abroad.

In other news, according to Reuters, the ever-aloof Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on “Meet the Press” this weekend that the economy is indeed not falling into a “double dip” recession. He does not expect the economy to fall backward. This may sound ridiculous to the millions of Americans who are still out of work. At times Geithner seems to be completely unaware of the difference between the financial economy and the real economy.

However, in line with his core belief that the economy is getting better, Secretary Geithner also believes it is time to end the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy.

All but the most partisan of reports agree that the Bush tax cuts have cost this country perhaps tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue. The cuts were sold to the American people as a means of “freeing up capital to create jobs.” What they did in practice was allow wealthy people to hoard more of their money – contributing to 8 years of record-breaking separation of the rich and poor in America.

If this administration can garner the political will to let these tax cuts slide, while withstanding the 24-hour barrage they will face from conservative political organizations like Fox News Channel, it would be a huge step in the right direction.

Rounding out the news, much of the news cycle this weekend was dominated by reports that embattled BP CEO Tony Hayward might be on the way out. Hayward has been “Palinesque” in his gaffe-prone public statements since the spill began in April. He has diminished the efforts and struggles of clean-up works, fisherman, and environmentalists several times. He once complained about being “tired” and wanting to “go home” in the midst of the crisis – he then attended a luxury yacht race with other members of the top 1 percent.

According to CNNMoney.com, Hayward is unlikely to walk away with a “golden parachute” if he does indeed leave the company. BP has performed quite poorly in the profit margins during the past fiscal quarter, but that alone is not reason enough for him to be denied a giant corporate severance. When John Thain III took over Merrill Lynch he spent his entire tenure losing money and hedging unfunded bets.

When the company tanked he still walked away with over $100 million in compensation for his efforts over several years and a multi-million dollar severance. Hayward should not expect the same treatment after doing such a poor public relations job during this crisis, it was as if he was trying to actively undermine the company.

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