Let's not get too bullish

Two recent pieces of good news - ok one to some, the other most likely to all - the Senate Finance Committee approved a version of a health care reform bill on Tuesday, and the Dow hit 10,000 today. A casual or even hardened observer is right to celebrate, but let's not get too carried away. On the former, the Senate Finance Committee bill apparently is a compromise between the reformers' most ardent demands and their opponents' hardened principles. It deserves scrutiny and I still feel that the question of the public option is left unanswered. Additionally, only one Republican on the Committee voted yes, which suggests that further partisan roadblocks in the main chambers are likely. On the Dow news, it is great that it finally recovered to 10,000, which certainly augurs a recovery en route. Nonetheless, crucial issues remain, notably the lingering effects of the recession and stock market collapse on many of Wall Street's biggest traders. We need to wait and see sustained increase in the Dow before believing in a more bullish stock market. Finally, the crucial index of unemployment is still high and growing. Overall, albeit not wanting to sound like a pessimist - I am not - but let's not read too much into the past two days of good news. Then again, if those tidings continue, party on into 2010!