Eeyore Interrupts

Robert Reich is still bearish:

Corporate earnings are up -- mainly because companies have been cutting costs. Payrolls comprise 70 percent of most companies' costs, which means companies have been slashing jobs. In the end, this is a self-defeating strategy. If workers don't have jobs or are afraid of losing them, they won't buy, and company profits will disappear.

I have no doubt that the recovery is still fragile; but I do think it's worth noting that very few people expected a Dow 10,000 any time soon last January. Obama has done the critical - and largely overlooked - thing. He has restored confidence in the markets and the economy after what came close to a total panic and meltdown. That is not easy. It is not sufficient, but it was necessary. And he did it.