New Fox News piece: LOTT'S NUMBERS: Happy Days Aren't Quite Here Again

My new piece at Fox News starts this way:

With the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching 10,000, Americans are feeling wealthier.

Unfortunately, roughly a third of the increase simply reflects the falling dollar, that American goods and assets are becoming cheaper to the rest of the world. About a third of the increase in stock prices has occurred simply because the value of the dollar has fallen so much. Just as a lower dollar makes it more attractive for foreigners to buy American goods, it also makes it a better deal for foreigners to buy stock in American companies.

Over the course of this year, as the value of the dollar rose until the beginning of March, the stock market fell. As the dollar fell during the rest of the year, the stock market rose. While the stock market has risen by about 49 percent since its low in March, the dollar has fallen by about 20 percent against the Canadian dollar, 17 percent against the Euro, 15 percent against the Mexican Peso, and 11 percent against the Japanese Yen. For each of these currencies the dollar peaked right when the stock market hit its lowest value. . . .