Stocks have another big day - Dow is over 13,000

Today's 187-point gain follows up Thursday's 212-point jump - and of course big losses on Monday and Tuesday. So now the Dow stands at 13,075, the first time the blue-chip index has been over that level since May 8. Much is being made of how the European Central Bank is finally getting its act together, but the truth is that very few people know what's really going on in Europe. Perhaps a better explanation is that U.S. equities are one of the few places where investors can make a few dollars in relative safety (well, as long as you steered clear of Facebook). That notion feeds into the second-quarter GDP of 1.5 percent, which is obviously weak, but not as weak as it could have been. Best to not get too carried away, but a 13,000+ Dow (7 percent year-to-date) is not altogether bad, all things considered