In the long run, stock prices reflect the value generated by their companies as reflected by their earnings and profits.  Thus far, the Q3 earnings results have been surprisingly good.  While economists are still targeting a weak-growth (but still positive-growth) trajectory, the first results from earnings seasons have been better than expected.  Notably, some of the large banks – Citigroup, JP Morgan, Bank of America – are beating Wall Street estimates.  Lower interest rates, which we’ve implemented, are theoretically correlated to falling bank earnings – first, because banking and lending is a proxy for national financial health and second, because lower rates give banks a smaller spread or margin with which to generate profitable loans.  On the plus side, lower rates are supposed to spur greater quantity of lending.  Although industry analysts have suggested limited commercial and business lending, but the home mortgage lending market is surging as the general public is demanding greater original home mortgage loans and home refinancing.