[gOOber]

U.S. stocks rose, sending benchmark indexes to records, as earnings from Morgan Stanley and UnitedHealth Group Inc. beat estimates and jobless claims fell amid testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke.

Morgan Stanley rallied 4.4 percent as stock-trading revenue bolstered profit. UnitedHealth jumped 6.5 percent after profit beat estimates as membership surged.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) gained 0.5 percent to 1,689.40 at 4 p.m. in New York. The index surpassed its previous intraday high of 1,687.18 set on May 22. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 78.56 points, or 0.5 percent, to 15,549.08, also a record.

[salem]

I think the equivalent in the UK to the DOW is the FTSE 100 Share Index. Or 'Footsie' as they call it. I used to watch a show called 'Business Lunch' sometimes in my school lunch break, just to see what the FTSE was. At the moment it is 6614.85. Of course back then I had no idea whther or not the number was a good or a bad one!

[pedonbio]

Modest guess: The Dow will drop 100 points for every day the federal government remains closed. 11,111, here we come!

[pedonbio]

Well, wrong again, you bitch!

Today the Dow was momentarily above 16,000; seeing its shadow, it ducked back to 15,976.

[pedonbio]

Here we are, closing above 16,000. On behalf of the Democratic Socialists of America, I wish to point out yet again the evidence that President Obama is truly not much of a socialist.

[pedonbio]

Like mountain climbing, when the Dow gets too high it has an attack of hypoxia and falls down.

[SamV]

Caused either by the rarefied atmosphere; or the faint smell of a bubble that might burst.

[pedonbio]

Caused either by the rarefied atmosphere; or the faint smell of a bubble that might burst.

I dunno. As bubbles go, this one isn't much.

[pedonbio]

Druul predicts 17,000 by Halloween. We shall see.

[pedonbio]

Today, for the second time this year, the Dow closed above 17,000.

I wonder if anyone still thinks President Obama is a socialist.

[Hiram]

The US economy contracts by 0.7pc on an annualised basis in first quarter.

Exports fell by 7.6pc in the first quarter, following growth of 4.5pc in the final quarter of last year

[pedonbio]

The US economy contracts by 0.7pc on an annualised basis in first quarter.

Exports fell by 7.6pc in the first quarter, following growth of 4.5pc in the final quarter of last year

The export drop is probably as much a result of the strong dollar (I can afford to vacation in Canada again.) as anything. The contraction isn't so easy to explain.

[Hiram]

The export drop is probably as much a result of the strong dollar (I can afford to vacation in Canada again.) as anything. The contraction isn't so easy to explain.

Yes, you are probably right. I think we are all a little surprised about -0.7%.

NB: Love Canada. I guess you drive from where you live?

NB: Not sure this is the correct use of Nota Bene, but heyho.

[pedonbio]

NB: Love Canada. I guess you drive from where you live?

We drive about half the time; it depends on how much time we have and where we are going. Long weekends we go to Victoria; spiritual trips we drive to Field, British Columbia, to visit the Burgess Shale. Mostly we have nerd specials, flying into Calgary and exploring the dinosaur fields, either from Drumheller, Alberta, or Dinosaur Provincial Park; or flying to Edmonton and following the Athabasca and Red Deer rivers. We talk about Yellowknife and/or Wood Buffalo National Park.

The thing about Canada is that every place is fascinating. We've been vacationing there on and off for thirty years, and we haven't been to Montreal yet. I want to visit the Arctic Ocean at least once; maybe the Beaufort Sea, too:

www.youtube.com/v/TVY8LoM47xI

[Hiram]

The thing about Canada is that every place is fascinating.

I've only ever been to Toronto and the surrounding area. But I did get to Niagara Falls. Canada was the first big country I ever went to - I couldn't believe haw far I had to drive to get nowhere.

I quite fancy Montreal myself - but my French isn't that good.

What is the land border crossing like - I've crossed from Canada into the US, at the time with a Canadian who had it easier than I did on a British passport. Is it relatively easy for someone with a US passport to enter Canada?