Indexes End at 2009 Highs

Wall Street headed higher on Thursday, marking the 5th consecutive day of gains. Gains accelerated during morning trading after a stronger-than-expected response to a debt auction . While the gains have pushed the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow to fresh highs, the size of the gains over the last week has been modest, which indicates that investors are still executing caution with each trade. Given this week's performance, the market's September curse may become something of the past soon. Energy, technology, and consumer related stocks led today's advances. Dow component Procter & Gamble (PG) rose 4% after the company said that it expects sales to improve in the next quarter. Monsanto (MON) and chip maker Texas Instruments (TXN) both stated that they expect profits to increase in the coming months. In other corporate news, John J. Mack is stepping down as CEO of Morgan Stanley (MS) in 2010. U.S. light crude oil for October delivery rose 59 cents to $71.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, seesawing after the government's weekly oil inventories report. The dollar resumed its slide against other major currencies, falling to a fresh low against the euro and yen.

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U.S. mortgage rates dipped slightly in this week, reaching a three-month low and remaining at levels that should continue to fuel demand for home loans. While fluctuations in mortgage rates are historically based on many factors, the biggest factor affecting mortgage rates today are the manipulations by the Federal Reserve.

Foreclosures: The struggle continues

Initial jobless claims are still falling, but at a slower pace. The number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits dropped last week to the lowest level since July. President Obama reiterated in his speech to Congress last night that he is committed to making sure that every individual that wants a job is able to obtain one. The White House followed up the speech by saying that the administration's recovery efforts have s aved or created more than one million jobs so far.

100 Jobs? It Looks Good to Michigan

Speaking of the White House, they've been pretty busy this week. The President delivered a crowd stirring speech last night that even led to him being heckled by South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson. Timmy Geithner testified in front of a Congressional Oversight Panel today and stated that the government has started to shrink many parts of the gigantic financial bailout that was initiated almost a year ago.

Video -- Obama on Health Care Reform

GM insists it will repay taxpayer funds -- oh, really?

Texas Instruments (TXN) raised its outlook today. The company is now expecting third-quarter earnings-per-share to increase. The Dallas-based company may be jumping a little ahead of itself given the results from the most recent quarter .

Procter & Gamble (PG) has finally figured it out. The last thing cash-strapped consumers want is higher prices and reduced quantities. P&G has decided to offer more value-priced products while maintaining some of its premium-priced products to lure in big spenders.

General Mills (GIS) is doing so well that it beat its own expectations . The food maker said its profit for its just-ended quarter came in ahead of its internal target, helped by lower food-ingredient and manufacturing costs.

Other Juicy Tidbits

During the financial crisis, a large amount of bad guys emerged. Believe it or not there are still some good guys around. Here are 5 people that maintained their integrity and stayed clean during the banking fiasco.

Paul Krugman, Keynes and Ketchup

Convicted swindler Bernard Madoff knew how to deal with pesky Securities and Exchange Commission investigators. He even had the audacity to give out tips on how to outsmart the SEC. A taped phone conversation lasting over an hour has surfaced.