Economy has Bright Spots Despite the Gloom

Right now, the economy isn't doing all that bad. The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 are both up more than 5% this year. All told they're both up 15% for the year but there are some stocks that are up by as much as 60-100%. The trend seems to be that industrial companies that make big construction equipment and luxury hotels and clothing stores are up the most which is supposedly expected after a recession. This is a time where people might hesitate on spending money but money managers are saying that this is the time to keep spending in the market. People with good jobs are starting to spend their money more freely again. All around the world there is a building trend and American countries are the ones supplying machinery etc. to the other countries, especially China. Also, spendings around Christmastime this year are expected to increase as well, displaying trends similar to that of 2006. One last thing though is that even though some of these companies are doing much better, they're still a ways off from their historical averages.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39712099/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/

Once again, I find myself reading an article about the good parts of the economy and the brighter side of it, which, is definitely not a bad thing in my book! I remember in another article I'd read that the company Caterpillar was doing quite well and it seems the trend of machinery companies such as that doing well in this economy continues. Also, one part of the article I didn't mention above was that the dollar is weaker but this may be a good thing because that makes other currencies stronger so they're able to buy more American products. I feel pretty optimistic about the economy but the tough part now is getting people to continue spending their money. And hidden underneath the rise of some companies is the fact that they're actually still lower than their averages in the past. Then again, getting the economy back to better health will be a process where we'll just have to work our way up little by little.