What a Week: Fabulous Finish

Four days of worrisome running in place ended happily for the markets on Friday as the labor market appears finally to be catching up with strong growth in other parts of the economy. The release of the much-anticipated February payrolls report sparked a relief rally in stocks and bonds.

The economy added 262,000 jobs last month, slightly more than the average forecast but less than the high-end estimates being bandied about at midweek. It seems Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan hit it about right on Wednesday when he said the economy was "expanding at a reasonably good pace."

Stock investors liked the reasonableness and opened stronger after the report and -- unlike the prior three days -- managed to build on those gains. In fact, all the up and down earlier had left the major indices about unchanged, so Friday's rally defined the week. ...