[Bertuzzied]

Originally Posted by Thunderball

Well, superficially, that newfound instability comes to mind. Since so much of the financial markets are based on fear, rumor and uncertainty, and since the US markets are doing decent today, its a fair question to ask if this political strife is beginning to damage the economy.

Maybe it isn't, maybe it is... but if the optics are there, the damage is done.

Maybe it has nothing to do with the coalition but rather on Harper's lack of a plan. Maybe the TSX would have tanked even further if the Coalition did not hint at a 30 billion dollar stimulus plan?

Or maybe it's because we are in a recession. Kinda kills the markets. If you want to compare Canada vs US. it would be better to compare the S&P 500 then the Dow. 30 stocks! Here they are. Look at the banking component. Bank of America, JP morgan and Citigroup. They make up 10% of the Dow. And they are up today. That could be the difference between the Dow and the TSX right there.


Dow 30 Components CompanyPriceChange%ChangeLast Update †3m Co60.86-1.49-2.39%12/2 4:03pmAlcoa Inc9.76+0.45+4.83%12/2 4:00pmAmerican Express Company20.76+1.12+5.70%12/2 4:00pmAT&T Inc.28.04+1.08+4.01%12/2 4:01pmBank of America Corporation14.37+1.52+11.83%12/2 4:01pmBoeing Co.40.70+0.82+2.06%12/2 4:01pmCaterpillar Inc.38.00+1.42+3.88%12/2 4:01pmChevron Corp75.54+3.52+4.89%12/2 4:01pmCitigroup, Inc.7.22+0.77+11.94%12/2 4:00pmE.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company23.60+1.38+6.21%12/2 4:02pmExxon Mobil Corp77.61+3.30+4.44%12/2 4:02pmGeneral Electric Company17.61+2.11+13.61%12/2 4:02pmGeneral Motors Corporation4.85+0.26+5.66%12/2 4:00pmHewlett-Packard Co.34.27+0.83+2.48%12/2 4:01pmIntel Corporation13.28+0.72+5.73%12/2 4:00pmInternational Business Machines79.84+2.94+3.82%12/2 4:01pmJohnson & Johnson56.83+1.50+2.71%12/2 4:01pmJP Morgan & Chase & Co28.53+2.41+9.23%12/2 4:01pmKraft Foods Inc.26.15+0.59+2.31%12/2 4:02pmMcDonald's Corporation57.05+0.91+1.62%12/2 4:01pmMerck & Co., Inc.26.68+1.83+7.36%12/2 4:02pmMicrosoft Corporation19.15+0.54+2.90%12/2 4:00pmPfizer Inc16.02+0.76+4.96%12/2 4:02pmThe Coca-Cola Company43.93-0.40-0.90%12/2 4:02pmThe Home Depot, Inc.21.85+0.87+4.08%12/2 4:00pmThe Procter & Gamble Company61.44+0.95+1.57%12/2 4:01pmUnited Technologies Corporation46.06+0.44+0.96%12/2 4:01pmVerizon Communications32.13+1.46+4.76%12/2 4:02pmWal-Mart Stores, Inc.53.45+0.44+0.83%12/2 4:02pmWalt Disney Company (The) (Holding Company)21.46+1.13+5.56%12/2 4:01p