Dow Peeks Its Head Above 14,000 For First Time Since 2007

How did we ever make it out of 2009?

How did we ever make it out of 2009?

Following a better-than-expected U.S. jobs report, the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed the 14,000 threshold for the first time since October of 2007, when the world was a care-free place where you could get a $500,000 mortgage just by pinky-swearing you’d pay the money back.

This is only the 15th time that the DJIA, an index of 30 blue-chip company stocks, has crossed into 14,000 territory. Of those 15 days, reports the AP, it’s only managed to finish the day above 14K on nine occasions.

The record-high number is 14,165.53 on Oct. 9, 2007.

As you probably recall, within a year, the index had lost 40% of its value and mortgage servicers were suddenly calling in all those pinky-swear loans. And things only got worse as that number continued to sink well into 2009.

So does this mean that the dark days are finally behind us? Not really. But it’s not a bad thing either.

“Any not-bad news is helping this market,” one brokerage partner tells the Wall Street Journal. “If we get great news, good news, or okay news, it’s still going to make our screens green.”

And since the DJIA really just represents how brokers are feeling about a small number of high-value stocks, one analyst cautions the AP that today’s news is “meaningless to the average professional.”

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