Dow 10,000! What A Long, Strange (Painful) Trip It's Been!

What a year! After nearly going to hell and never looking back, the Dow Jones has topped the 10,000 mark for the first time in a year. And, an easy trip it was not. It was only March of this year that the Dow bottomed at just over 6500, and nobody was going to retire, ever! Seven months and a few panics later, the Dow has rallied 52% off the lows and firms like Goldman Sachs are threatening to dole out their biggest bonuses ever! JP Morgan Chase isn't far behind, either. While bonuses are the controversy du jour, two things are undeniable: one, we are far removed from the "winter of fear", and second, the move over 10,000 on the Dow is a major confidence booster.