Item: Dow tops 9,000 as home sales rise for 3rd month: Stocks extend rally after jump in home sales; Dow crosses 9,000 for first time since January/Yahoo! Finance

More Info: The Dow Jones industrials are back above 9,000 for the first time since the beginning of January. Investors are snapping up stocks across the market Thursday, sending major indexes up about 2 percent, after a report showed existing home sales jumped for the third straight month. A 3.6-percent increase in June home sales has investors excited that the hard-hit housing market might be improving. The National Association of Realtors said sales came in at 4.89 million last month, above the 4.84 million analysts had been expecting.

Question: Are you more optimistic re: the economy and financial situation now than you were a month ago?