dow jones

The Dow Jones industrial average crossed 13,000 on Tuesday for the first time since May 2008, when the Lehman Brothers investment bank was solvent, unemployment a healthy 5.4 percent and the worst of the Great Recession months ahead. The milestone came about two hours into the trading day. The stock market got the final push from strong corporate earnings reports and a Greek bailout deal intended to prevent the next financial crisis.

Taking note of the Dow's progress, The Wall Street Journal recently called its performance "eerie ... calm ... too quiet." Indeed, if things keep going at the rate they have been going so far, we're on track for the stock markets to gain more than 50% this year. Dow 18,000, anyone?

With sales estimates gloomy, the Dow Jones U.S. Financial Services ETF may be a great bet. So far in 2011, it has had a return of just over 2.6% and a dividend yield of .5%

The Dow Jones industrial average closed its best start to the year since 1999 Thursday, rising 6.4% in the first three months. The index of 30 large companies gained 742 points in that stretch -- the largest point gain since 1998 and the second best on record.

Investors continue to flee stocks as worries remain about the nuclear crisis in Japan. It also didn't help that new-home construction fell to the second-lowest level on record in February.

Investors and traders greeted Dow 12,000 with cheers Tuesday after the blue-chip index closed at the highest level since 2008. Where do we head from here? It all depends on the economy. And considering the possible headwinds, the market's rapid rise so far seems pretty fragile.

Stocks posted big gains Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 1.7%, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke assured the nation that the Fed is ready to step in.

Instead of embracing what the daily voices of doom are proclaiming -- notice how equity prices continue to edge higher in spite of all the seemingly bad news. Now's the time for long-term vision.

The Dow closed Friday at 10,424.62, within an eyelash of where it began the 2010 trading year, after a furious March and April rally that took it to just over 11,205, and a fear-driven bull that pushed it back down again to just under 9,700.

It's impossible to predict when the market will stop reacting -- and overreacting -- to the European debt crisis. Until investors gain more confidence, the Dow is stuck in a volatile 300-point range. (with video)