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After the worst week ever for the Dow, today brought its biggest one-day gain. The Dow Jones industrial average soared 936 points as part of Wall Street's best day in 76 years.
Does this bit of brighter economic news today have Utahns feeling better about the future? We spoke with some experts and everyday families to find out.
The short answer is those we spoke with are cautiously optimistic but still in very much a wait-and-see mode.
We went shopping with Becky and Mike Mueller and their four children. But this family outing was far different than those past. There's less buying and more looking.
"[I'm] trying to teach my kids it's not about going out to eat two or three times a week, that we're staying home a little bit more and trying budget our money better," Becky said.
She says it will take more than the stock market's jump today to get her spending full throttle again.
"We were going to Disneyland. We were going to go with a couple of families that lived in our neighborhood, and we all just decided that it was best just to cancel out and wait till the first of the year and see what happens," Becky said.
Wells Fargo Bank economist Kelly Matthews is also watching and waiting. "We're seemingly trying to figure this out. That's why each day there seems to be a new emphasis or new approach," he said.
Matthews says tomorrow's opening of the credit markets will help determine any lift in this country's financial outlook. "We don't know how that's going to behave tomorrow," he said.
But if you're an individual investor, broker John Redd says for most, being proactive means not being overly reactive.
"We don't want to make changes to our long-term plan based on short-term information," Redd said.
That's why the Muellers say they're ignoring their 401(k) statements for now. "Right now, [we're] just going day by day," Mike said.
They're also spending so much less. Even the kids know the family's on a tight budget. "We used to get spoiled, but now my mom says we can't go out to dinner," Dylan Mueller said.
Possibly more good news to come tomorrow: President Bush is expected to announce details of a plan to buy stock in private banks, which could help loosen the credit markets.
E-mail: lprichard@ksl.com
