Just mentioned this on Twitter but thought it bore repeating here. The stock market posting its third straight day of gains today reminded me I’d read a very educational AP article last week about what “the bottom” of our economic situation might look like. You can read it here.
Here’s something I found interesting. The article says, in reference to the market recovering:
Other investors may look to obscure indicators such as the Baltic Dry Index, which tracks the cost of shipping iron ore, grain and other materials. Rising rates can indicate demand for raw materials is increasing, which suggests a strengthening economy.
And here’s what the Baltic Dry Index looks like for the past 12 months:
I’m no economist, but it looks like there’s a pretty noticeable trend over the past couple months. I’m just saying.
There was definitely a temporary bottom in the fall followed by a short term rally, but there was similar action in the fall of 2001 going into early 2002 before the market turned downward for another year. The drop in October was so dramatic the market was bound to bounce back. How strong and sustainable this rally will be, I don’t know.
Can we vote on this?
I vote for the recession being over. Who’s with me?
I think the White House has a new page for that.