Did someone give the House of Representatives reasonableness pills?
Treasury Secretary Geithner is testifiying in front of the House Financial Services Committee...his primary topic is tougher oversight of the financial system, but he is also touching on hedge fund regulation and the need to get credit default swaps on a regulated exchange.
That's not what's startling: what's startling is that the Congresspeople are not using Geithner as a human punching bag. They are actually asking reasonable questions in a civilized manner, and Geithner is responding, more than holding his own.
This is an indication we are finally getting past the AIG outrage, and Congress is finally getting down to some serious business.
Meantime, the S&P 500 earlier this morning hit its highest level in 6 weeks...commodity stocks are again showing strength, along with the beneficiaries, particularly transportation stocks like railroads. Retailers are also strong on positive comments from Best Buy, ConAgra, and Dr. Pepper.
