The economy is booming ... and Med's union pension is more secure than ever.

By Amanda Cooper

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rallied on Wednesday, driving the Dow Jones industrial average to a record intraday high, after a strong profit and outlook from Cisco Systems Inc. <CSCO.O> increased optimism about earnings.

Data showing softer-than expected fourth-quarter U.S. labor costs and stronger-than-expected productivity also soothed some concern about wage inflation.

"Cisco put people in the mood. I think the productivity numbers and unit labor costs are making people pretty bullish," said Ray Rund, managing director and head of research at Shaker Investments in Cleveland.
"I follow technology -- small and mid-cap -- pretty closely and I was noticing that companies that beat last night, that came out with really good forecasts that were higher than people were expecting are up dramatically today," he said.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 22.19 points, or 0.17 percent, to 12,688.50, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 4.33 points, or 0.30 percent, to 1,452.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> rallied 20.89 points, or 0.85 percent, to 2,492.38.

Earlier, the Dow rose to an all-time intraday high of 12,700.28.
Cisco <CSCO.O> shares rose 4.2 percent to $28.43 in their largest daily gain since November 28 after the network equipment maker's quarterly earnings and outlook beat Wall Street's expectations.

This helped push the S&P 500 to a fresh six-year high of 1,452.88.
Rund also cited Intevac Inc. <IVAC.O>, a manufacturer of disk-drive components. Its shares surged nearly 25 percent, or $5.54, to $28.16 and ranked as the Nasdaq's top percentage gainer.

Broadcom Corp. <BRCM.O> shares climbed 6.1 percent to $33.93 after Morgan Stanley upgraded the wireless equipment maker's stock and said the company may report surprisingly good quarterly results. Broadcom was one of the biggest positive influences on the Nasdaq 100.

Among the Dow's major gainers was Hewlett-Packard Co. <HPQ.N>, up 1.5 percent at $42.63 on the New York Stock Exchange.

On the macroeconomic front, a preliminary government report showed U.S. productivity beat expectations in the fourth quarter, while unit labor costs, one of the Federal Reserve's most closely watched inflation gauges, rose slightly less than predicted.

Peter Morici, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Business, noted this bodes well for corporate profits as companies will have greater scope to maintain or widen their profit margins on their domestic operations.

U.S. crude oil for March delivery <CLH7> was up 17 cents at $59.05 a barrel, below its NYMEX session high at $59.84. The moderation in the price of oil also supported the stock market.
(Additional reporting by Emily Chasan)

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Damned right I'm an equal opportunity offender, I'm a Conservative!

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"I suppose I always knew America would eventually break the planet, like some ghastly, hyperactive toddler that gets hold of a mobile phone and then smashes it repeatedly against the edge of a table". Quote from british journalist.

No comments on the increased security of your union pension?

Vi

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Damned right I'm an equal opportunity offender, I'm a Conservative!

[quote=medicineman;48969]The econoimy is booming for the capitalists, The middle class is taking it up the ass![/quote]

The Middle Class in the U.S. ARE capitalists, Med. By the way ... how much equity (capital) do you have in your home?

Vi

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Damned right I'm an equal opportunity offender, I'm a Conservative!

i hate that you are in some twisted fashion but the term is 'seperation of classes' where as rich get richer and poor get poorer. so do somthing smart grow some pot for you rich friends and get all that lost capital back lower middle amerika.!!

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"All stupid people should be shot in the head. Thin the heard people its called nature" -adam corolla

http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journal...xperiment.html

i can tell you first hand that the tax cuts have helped me and my family get going... i can't imagine where we would be under the previous regime, def wouldn't have bought a house and paid off cars and paid off so much debt...

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"I suppose I always knew America would eventually break the planet, like some ghastly, hyperactive toddler that gets hold of a mobile phone and then smashes it repeatedly against the edge of a table". Quote from british journalist.

We are in the 60-70 thousand a year category and got about 600.00







ok med, seems like your liver would build a tolerance to the koolaid you perpetually saturate your inards with...

eliminate marriage penalty (Clinton's sub-conscious?)
$1000 per child credit
non-itemized deductions for charity (now that i get 1099s and use schedule C not a big deal but still helps, i donate $ and other stuff.)

you would have been in a 36% bracket Med, now you're in 25%, your math is WRONG.

i'm not a mill/ just yet.

Logic is wasted on the insane.

Vi

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Damned right I'm an equal opportunity offender, I'm a Conservative!

yeah, this is the part where he will go off topic...