Is the US economy finally on the road to recovery?

VIDEO - Cautious optimism on Wall Street, one day after the DOW Jones Industrial Average closed above the 11,000 mark for the first time in 18 months...

TheGrio Staff

Apr 13, 2010

Cautious optimism on Wall Street, one day after the DOW Jones Industrial Average closed above the 11,000 mark for the first time in 18 months.

Stock trading cooled from Tuesday’s rally after industrial manufacturer Alcoa posted lower than expected first quarter earnings and oil prices tumbled.

Analysts say the Dow’s steady climb in the past year shows signs of recovery.

“The market is up about seventy five percent since it bottomed in march of 2009 and the market is usually a leading indicator of the economy. So that alone suggests that things are getting better,” said Manuel Schiffres of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.

But much of the optimism on Wall Street has yet to take hold on main street.

Even though some companies are starting to hire again, it is not at a pace needed to offset the nation’s high unemployment, still above nine percent.

And a record number of Americans are fighting foreclosure in this down economy.

“The trauma that occurred a year and a year and a half ago is still fresh in people’s minds. That’s why we have this huge amount of cash on the sidelines from individual investors but also institutional investors and hedge funds,” said institutional investor Mike Holland.

There are some signs the overall economy may be on the mend.

Consumers are buying more goods.

The commerce department says imports for household goods like TVs and clothing were up in February.

And economists say it is that consumer spending, the major engine driving the U.S. economy and that will ultimately show when main street has recovered.

We will learn more about the overall economy in the coming days.

Earnings reports and economic data are due out, including a foreclosure report for the month of March.