After fighting through a difficult morning Wall Street finished with yet another consecutive day of growth Monday afternoon. The Dow Jones led the way with a 0.18 percent (18.24 points) gain, followed closely by gains on the NASDAQ (0.09 percent, 1.91 points) and S&P 500 (0.07 percent, 0.79 points).
According to analysts with CNNMoney.com, markets seemed poised to open even higher today. Each of the major indices jumped nearly 1 percent in just one hour. Aluminum giant Alcoa kicked off the corporate earnings reports last night with strong numbers. Other companies are expected to follow suit.
Markets are on the rise, and shareholders are beginning to see their profitable dividends once again, but other indicators are still looking down. According to MarketWatch, the U.S. trade gap widened unexpectedly in May 2010.
The trade gap is the means by which our economy has been drained over the course of nearly four decades. The United States has run an annual deficit for every year since 1976. Even during the current recession the gap has continued, led in large part by increasing imports from China.
In May 2010 the trade gap widened by 4.8 percent to $42.3 billion, the largest increase since November 2008. Imports only actually increased by 2.9 percent, but U.S. exporters found their products less attractive around the globe. Imports from China far out-paced growth in any other sector; increasing 12.1 percent for the month.
In other news, according to Reuters, new polling data shows that a majority of Americans lack faith in President Obama. The poll, conducted by Washington Post/ABC News, shows a full 60 percent of Americans lacking confidence in the White House. Just 18 months ago 60 percent of Americans were still confident in the leadership of this administration.
Unfortunately, failing to lead on military policy, public option health care, strong financial reform and civil rights issues have taken their toll on the president. At the same time the United States has witnessed zero progress on alternative energy, and we are suffering what could become the worst oil disaster in human history. When all of these factors are coupled with the nearly 100 percent unified opposition put up by Republicans, which is actually intent on making the country worse so as to blame the Democrats during election season, it should come as no surprise that President Obama’s popularity has taken a hit.