The Night Note is brought to you by the fine folks on the News4 assignment desk.
MARKET RALLIES; WILL IT LAST?
Investors kicked back into rally mode Monday, ending a week-long slump, as Wall Street rediscovered its appetite for stocks. All three major U.S. indexes climbed 3%, with the Dow Jones industrials up 235 points to 8504, after better-than-expected results from home improvement retailer Lowes and an improving Home Builders index fanned hopes the economy is be on the mend. (USA Today)
GOP CASHES IN ON THE BOSS
Bruce Springsteen campaigned aggressively for the last two Democratic presidential candidates, but that hasn’t stopped Republicans from joining Democrats in cashing in on the Boss’s Monday night concert in Washington. At least 15 lawmakers and political committees – including half a dozen Republican ones – are planning fundraisers at the sold-out concert at the Verizon Center. Although most tickets to Monday’s show had face values of less than $100, lobbyists and political action committee directors are plunking down upwards of $2,000 to watch Springsteen while shmoozing members of Congress – including some who seem unlikely to know the words to “Thunder Road.” (Politico)
CAN YOU PARK ME NOW? GOOD!
Motorists could pay to park in Bethesda by using their cell phones, under a plan being considered by the Montgomery County Council. If the council approves the measure Thursday, the county would be the first D.C.-area jurisdiction to use the system, which is already in use in many European countries and in U.S. cities such as Coral Gables, Fla., and Decatur, Ga.(NBCWashington.com)
SEX-THEMED PARK: PREMATURE EVICTION
This investment turned out to be as risky as it was risque. A sex theme park that featured explicit exhibits of genitalia and sexual culture is being demolished before it can even open, a government spokesman in southwestern China said Monday. The park, christened "Love Land" by its owners, went under the wrecking ball over the weekend in the city of Chongqing, said the spokesman, who like many Chinese bureaucrats would give only his surname, Yang. (MSNBC)
