While surfing the Internet today, I though I had finally found something positive, something promising regarding the economy and the recovery we are all hoping for to come soon. But like all "news" today that would have been too positive, too optimistic, too realistic???? Realistic?? Either this guy is living on a different planet, or the author of this article pulled some really old quotes from old Rich Hughes...maybe from late 2007?

COPIED FROM YAHOO!

Bernanke: Recession may end in '09; Stocks climb

 By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer Tim Paradis, Ap Business Writer - 15 mins ago

 AP - Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, ...

 NEW YORK - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has reassured Wall Street by telling Congress the recession might end this year.

In his semiannual report to the Senate Banking Committee, Bernanke predicted the economy is likely to keep contracting in the first six months of 2009. But he also said "there is a reasonable prospect" the recession will end this year. He warned that a recovery will require getting credit and financial markets to operate normally. - good and pretty much "duh!"....

While Bernanke's assessment of the economy helped ease some pressure on the market, it also came after days of heavy selling that left the Dow Jones industrial averageand the Standard & Poor's 500 index near 12-year lows, so a bounce in stocks wasn't a surprise. Stocks made cheaper by the selloff attracted bargain-hunting traders. Also, some, better-than-expected quarterly numbers from Home Depot Inc. helped cool some anxiety about the economy. - note 12 year low.....

.....then, where did this come from? What world is this guy living in anyway?

From the same article above....Rich Hughes, co-president of Portfolio Management Consultants in Los Angeles, said the stock market's rallies are likely to be based on hope or on rebounds from selloffs. He contends Wall Street still hasn't seen the wrenching decline that is often needed to scare investors from the market and set the ground for a lasting recovery. "The underlying fundamentals just aren't there to support anything that's sustainable right now," he said. "We haven't seen the capitulation that you'd want to see before you'd get thoroughly enthused."

WHAT!!? Decline, what the hell has the last 6 months been? The last 2 years? Is this guy for real? Capitulation? Where are the investors then if they are not scared off? Who knows what to think anymore....with articles like this no one ever will.