*Dow hits 10,000

Yaay!!! It's the first time in more than a year - Oct. 7, 2008, to be precise (seems a lot longer). The milestone doesn't really mean anything - unemployment is still out of sight, foreclosures keep going up, and state and local governments remain fiscal disaster areas. And already, the index has fallen below five figures. Still, rightly or wrongly, folks use the Dow as a kind of daily litmus test for the economy. So while the experts will pooh-pooh today's gain, I choose to give it more than a little significance.

*Dow closes at 10,015.86, up 144.80, or 1.5 percent.