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Politics : President Barack Obama -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: $Mogul who wrote (45446)	11/21/2008 3:58:54 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 149317

U.S. Stocks Rally as Obama Picks Tim Geithner to Head Treasury By Eric Martin Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rebounded from an 11-year low after President- elect Barack Obama picked New York Federal Reserve Bank chief Timothy Geithner to head the Treasury. “This news could really give the stock market a badly needed shot in the arm,” Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York, wrote in an e-mail to clients. Geithner is a “fantastic choice to help lead the financial markets out of the wilderness.” Citigroup Inc. pared a 35 percent slide and JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed a 16 percent tumble after a Democratic aide said Obama will nominate Geithner to replace Henry Paulson. National- Oilwell Varco Inc. and Chesapeake Energy jumped more than 12 percent as crude advanced for the first time in six days. The rally in the S&P 500 came after this week’s rout dragged its price-to-earnings valuation to the cheapest since 1995. The S&P 500, which is poised for a third-straight weekly decline, gained 5 percent to 790.29 at 3:38 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 392.1 points, or 5.2 percent, to 7,944.39, while the Nasdaq Composite Index added 3.6 percent to 1,363.44. Benchmark indexes swung between gains and losses earlier as growing concern over the survival of Citigroup Inc. offset a rally in commodities producers. The S&P 500 extended its 2008 slide to 49 percent yesterday and was poised for the worst annual decline in its 80-year history after economic reports depicted a deepening recession and lawmakers postponed a vote on a plan to salvage the auto industry. Citigroup, which has about $2 trillion of assets, has fallen for nine of the last 10 days on concern more companies and consumers will default as the economy worsens. 2008 Tumble This year’s tumble in the S&P 500 dragged down 97 percent of its stocks and all 64 of its so-called level-three industries, groups such as “distributors” and “leisure equipment,” as of yesterday’s close. More stocks decreased in the current bear market than in the 49 percent rout after the technology bubble burst in 2000. Alan Greenspan can stop worrying about “irrational exuberance” in the U.S. stock market, 12 years after he warned investors that share prices were rising too fast. The S&P 500 fell below 744.38 today, its closing level on Dec. 5, 1996, the day then-Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan used the phrase in a speech on “The Challenge of Central Banking in a Democratic Society.” The S&P 500 was trading for 20.7 times earnings when Greenspan gave his warning and its valuation climbed to as high as 62.9 in March 2002, according to Bloomberg data. The index was valued at 16.3 times reported profits of its companies at yesterday’s closing level, the cheapest since 1995. The S&P 500 has tumbled 13 percent this week. The Dow average has declined 12 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite Index is down 14 percent. To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Martin in New York at emartin21@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: November 21, 2008 15:39 EST