So How Are the Markets Looking After the Big Deal?

Here’s the Dow Jones index:
You may ask yourself: What the hell is going on? Wasn’t the debt deal supposed to buoy confidence? At this point it’s good to remember that investors are not stupid. They assumed there would be a deal, and only started to get a little panicky in the final days before Sunday’s late-night bargain. They were always more concerned with economic growth, which is supporting. And they’re paying attention to Treasury yields, which are slumping, too. Really, it’s almost like the debt crisis wasn’t as immediate as the crisis of economic growth. This, from the Bloomberg report, is pretty horrifying. Speculation of new stimulus is increasing after U.S. data this week showed manufacturing grew at the weakest pace in two years, spending unexpectedly fell and the services industries grew at the slowest pace since February 2010. Look: At some point, investors are going to have to start paying attention to how Congress actually works. It’s more likely to declare National John Wayne Gacy Appreciation Day on August 5 than it is to pass more stimulus. The expectation is that we’ll have 113,000 new private sector jobs to announce tomorrow. Give me the under.