What a Week: Here Comes the Sun (Little Darlings)

With apologies to the Beatles: All but the most hardened skeptics have to admit "it's getting better, a little better all the time."

In fact, the economic data got a lot better this week, and stocks and bonds reacted accordingly. Notably, some of the market's recent whipping boys (and girls) were among the week's best performers, evincing the forgiving tone of the action.

For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2%, while the S&P 500 gained 2.9% and the Nasdaq Composite leapt 7%. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury, which moves inversely to its price, rose 34 basis points, ending the week at 5.32%. ...