The index is nearing the psychologically important mark again, but the broader economy is still shaky. MoneyWatch's Jill Schlesinger discusses what you should do.
>>
Maggie: Wall Street could hit a major milestone this week, crossing over into territory it hasn't been in in over a year, the 10,000 mark. CBS news correspondent, Kelly Wallace, is down at the stock exchange with the latest. Good morning Kelly.
>> Kelly Wallace: Good morning Maggie. Analysts say the Dow could hit 10,000 this week if companies continue to report better than expected third quarter earnings. The rally is also fueled by rising commodity prices, with gold hitting an all time high and the value of the dollar continuing to fall as investors pull money out of safe assets and put it into stocks. Getting to 10,000, analysts say, would send a much-needed boost to Main Street. During a Columbus Day holiday rally, the Dow peaked at 9931, a new high for 2009 and just 69 points away from the psychologically important 10,000 mark, a level the Dow hasn't seen in a year.
>>
Speaker: It's like ringing a bell for the folks that don't watch this market every day to let them know things are getting better, both in the market and in the economy, and maybe it's time to start looking at stocks again.
>> Kelly Wallace: But the recovery will be a slow one. The U.S. is facing its highest unemployment rate in 26 years, and mounting job losses mean more Americans can't pay their mortgage, as Dean Reynolds reports from Illinois.
>> Dean Reynolds: I'm here in the Chicago suburbs, where James Yacino assumed spelling is about to lose his home.
>> James Yacino: I have no choice. I'm gonna be homeless.
>> Dean Reynolds: His auto collision repair service is failing, and so he's been forced to move just about everything he owns into a portable storage facility. And he takes no comfort in knowing that many others are in the same boat. In the Chicagoland area, during the first six months of this year, foreclosures spiked 30 percent, and nationwide one out of that every 84 homes has received at least one foreclosure notice.
>> Kelly Wallace: And as Don Teague reports from Texas, the weak US dollar has the potential to hurt businesses and consumers.
>> Don Teague: At this Dallas cheese shop called "Molto Formaggio," the real negative impact to the bottom line is the declining value of the US dollar. The reason is simple. Most of these cheeses are imported from Europe, so as the value of the dollar falls, the cost of the cheese rises. A good example, this French cheese, the price of this has gone up fourteen percent just since June, and the owners say they may soon have to pass those increases on to customers. On the other hand, a weak dollar makes American goods cheaper to foreign buyers, so alternately a weak dollar could boost exports and narrow the trade gap.
>>
Maggie: So what does all of this mean to the average American family? Joining us this morning, Jill Schlesinger, Editor-at-Large for CBS MoneyWatch.com. Good morning, Jill.
>> Jill Schlesinger: Good Morning.
>>
Maggie: Question number one, what's pushing the Dow to the 10,000 mark?
>> Jill Schlesinger: We averted disaster in the economy. That's number one. Companies cut costs like crazy. They fired people, laid off people, stopped spending money, and the government pumped trillions of dollars into the economy. That is really the source of the move back up from those March lows.
>>
Maggie: Most of us have 401Ks. What should we be doing to take advantage of this milestone?
>> Jill Schlesinger: This is a great opportunity to really stop, think, and reassess. So we're gonna start with that reassessment thing. Every single retirement plan has an online questionnaire. It's called a risk tolerance or risk assessment questionnaire. Figure out where you stand. You've lived through some really bad lows. It may be time to move it along and be time to diversify your portfolio and put your money back to work. Now is a great time to do it.
>>
Maggie: All right, Jill Schlesinger, thank you so much.
>> Jill Schlesinger: Thank you.
Music
==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.
Forget 'What are your strengths and weaknesses?' If you want to get the real dope on prospective employees, ask job candidates these seven questions.
In the highly publicized chicken wars, KFC seems to be winning the financial battle over El Pollo Loco. But is it really fair to compare the smaller chain to Colonel Sanders' empire?
How’d you like to earn a few thousand dollars for less than an hour of your time? This is no get-rich-quick come-on. The extra income is the potential payoff for making a few simple and painless money moves.
