Wall Street has just seen a two-month rally that included a whopping 39% rise from the recent rock-bottom prices on the Standard & Poor's 500. In addition, during several consecutive weeks, new U.S. jobless claims have dropped. Even quarterly reports from the battered banking sector have given investors some optimism that the worst-case scenarios will not happen.
So does that mean the band can strike up "Happy Days Are Here Again" to herald the arrival of an economic recovery, and the end of America's longest recession -- now 18 months and counting -- since the Great Depression of the 1930s? Most financial experts at Wharton and elsewhere insist that the much-talked about recovery is not here yet, despite some of the first hopeful data in months -- and they remain concerned that the recovery will be weaker and take longer to gain momentum than past slowdowns.
Maybe there will be a rally today since the European markets are up?
