The markets managed gains for the fourth straight day today as weaker new home sale numbers could not stop the market rally. Although the Dow finished with a gain of just 1 and a half points on the day, it adds on to a four day rally that has left the index with a gain of 1.5% over this period and near its 52 week high. The Nasdaq led all sectors yet again today up 17 points or .75%. Over the same four day period, the Nasdaq is up more than 4% while the S&P is up 2.2%. Helping to offset the bad news of new home sales which dropped last month, two other reports showed that personal income and spending rose as did consumer sentiment numbers. Oil prices jumped about 3% today after a report from the US Government showed that the supply of oil fell last week. Gold also rose today as the dollar rally slowed. As the year winds down we have some numbers for our visitors to look at. This year the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P have posted gains of 19%, 44%, and 24% respectively. Since hitting twelve year lows on March 9th of this year however, the indexes have posted gains of 60%, 79%, and 66% respectively.

In news affecting Main Street and Wall Street, the Senate’s version of the Health Care Bill passed it’s last hurdle before a final vote this morning (Christmas Eve). The measure was passed along party lines with Democrats getting the 60-39 vote. The bill will be voted on and if passed, will have to be merged with the House version of the bill before being signed by President Obama.

The Fiscal Frenzy Portfolio Challenge is under way. Currently, our own portfolio is in the lead with a gain of 11.41% since December 1st. We made big gains by buying into Jabil Circuit before it reported earnings as we recommended in our Quick Picks on Monday. The stock gained more than 14% after reporting better than expected earnings. It is not to late to sign up for the game as we will select the top portfolio every two months and give the winner a $20 gift card. The first prize drawing will be on February 1st. To sign up for the game simply click on the link below and type in the case sensitive password “FiscalFrenzy”.

http://vse.marketwatch.com/Game/GameOverview.aspx?id=FFChallenge