Dow ends above 11,000 for first time in 18 months.

Folks, that is NOT good news!  Wall Street and its foreign brethren are right back to playing reverse Robin Hood and these increases aren't realistic.  They are based on "hope" and "faith" and nothing real.

"The reports on Greece and the corporate buyouts raised expectations that the economy is recovering. Hopes of a rebound have been driving the stock market higher for 13 months."  They are expecting the average person to fund this while the average people can't afford food!  Sooner or later, the market HAS to make a real correction that sticks and, the more it gets artificially pumped up, the bigger the correction will have to be.

Those freaks on Wall Street didn't even get their hands slapped for their last debacles, instead they got BONUSES.  It's no great surprise that they are right back at their bad behavior, lining their pockets at the expense of all the regular folks whose retirement funds are what's at risk.

Here's the simplest rule of thumb I can give you.  If the stock market is going up at a rate substantially higher than average cost of living is rising, then there is something seriously amiss.  No COLAs last year for Social Security benefits but the market has skyrocketed.  NOT GOOD.  Do not look at the stock market to see how the economy is going.  Look down the main streets of your towns.  If they are deteriorating, if you see people lounging around without jobs, the market should be in decline as well.  The market should follow main street, not vice versa.  Anything else and they are up to no good on Wall Street.

Beyond that, real wealth or progress simply can't generally be made on borrowed funds because it's incredibly rare to be able to make more and faster than the interest one pays on the loan.  Everybody wants to jump on the big boys gravy train but WE don't have the leverage they do so get out of their play pool if you can't afford to drown.