For the fifth session in a row the markets managed to gain.  Today the Dow and S&P 500 each rose .5% on the day while the NASDAQ led all indexes yet again with a gain of .7%.  The markets were aided by positive news out of the jobs market.  The number of first time jobless claims fell more than expected last week increasing hopes that the recession is ending quickly.  The NASDAQ was aided by technology yet again, today Apple was in the spotlight.  On rumors of their possible iTablet, shares rose to their all time intraday high before finishing the session just below those levels.  Early in the trading day the Senate passed their health care bill as expected which had little affect on the markets.  Todays gains have left all three indexes at their highest levels of 2009 and for the Dow and S&P this is the highest they have been since early October of 2008 while the Nasdaq is at it’s highest point since early September of 2008.

In our portfolio game Fiscal Frenzy has just a 5 and a half percent lead now and the gap is continuing to close.  Since December 1st, our portfolio has gained 13% while the second place portfolio is at almost 8%.  The portfolio in second, named Aria, has managed these astounding gains by investing heavily into technology.  This person bought 200 shares of Google, whose shares have jumped $28 or 5% since the person bought.  Aria has also profited from a booming technology sector by buying into shares of Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.  One benefit of this portfolio game is that it is possible to see all your competitors stock moves to give you some ideas on how to, or how not to trade the markets.