Good News and Bad News!

First the good news.

Wall Street on the upswing

Stocks advance for third straight session as investors breathe a sigh of relief that some earnings have been OK and that Geithner has been approved.

Treasury easily sells record $40 billion in two-year notes

The bond market had a welcoming gift for new Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner today: The government had no trouble selling a record sum of two-year notes.

Here's my theory. Stock and treasury investors expect Geithner to optimize our country's fiscal problems in the exact same way he optimized his own personal tax situation. Don't ask! Don't tell!

Now the bad news.

Oil falls $4 amid economic jitters

Crude plummets on a day when the government reports rise in unemployment across the nation and consumer confidence hits all time low.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil prices fell more than $4 a barrel Tuesday as worries about a recovery in demand took center stage amid heightened concern that the global recession will continue to drag on.

That feeling was exacerbated by two dismal economic reports out of the United States, the world's largest oil consumer.

Economic jitters? We just replaced the Treasury Secretary with someone apparently much more competent. I can still remember the last time we did it. Investors were so impressed with the progress that he nearly became Time's Person of the Year!

Hank Paulson

Paulson was officially sworn in at a ceremony held at the Treasury Department on the morning of July 10, 2006.

The DJIA closed that day at 11,103.55. Today it stands at 8174.73. Great job Hank!

In 2008, Time magazine named Paulson as a runner-up for its Person of the Year 2008.

So here are my predictions, using simple extrapolation.

Look for Geithner to almost be Time's Person of the Year in 2011, but only if the DJIA sheds another 3000 points, housing prices continue to plummet, we're still teetering on the edge of a Great Depression, and if TARP2 (Troubled Asset Relief Program #2) does not actually buy any troubled assets.