18,288 and 5,007. Those are the highs both the Dow Jones Industrial and the NASDAQ Composite hit on Monday. 18,288 is the highest the Dow Jones has ever been while the NASDAQ hasn’t hit 5,000 since March 9th 2000. These high numbers mean there’s a lot of confidence in America’s economy on Wall Street.
Professor Hook says Wall Street invests based on earnings over the last year to three years. And based on those evaluations or price earnings ratios, the traders buy and sell the stocks. Unlike when the 90s bubble burst, the current price earnings ratio is low enough to allow for greater gains.
High stocks means Wall Street is very confident in the US economy. And here locally on the Brainerd’s equivalent of Main Street, Laurel Street is expecting their best year since the recession.
An indicator that the economy is on track is when businesses start investing in themselves. And the Brainerd Lakes Chamber says they’re seeing a lot of businesses starting to expand in the Lakes Area.

By — Lakeland PBS

Our mission to educate, entertain, enrich, and enlighten.