Dow gains nearly 240 on good news on banks, GM

...it's about time we had a little bit of good news about the economy. The first crumb of good news doesn't necessarily mean that the economy is finally turning around for the better but any good news is welcome, wouldn't you say?

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NEW YORK — Investors have been clamoring for months for a bit of good news. On Thursday, they got a load of it. The Dow Jones industrials shot up 240 points, bringing its gains over the past three days to 622 points. It was the index's biggest three-day jump since last November.

This week's rally got an extra dose of adrenalin after an accounting board told Congress Thursday it may recommend a let-up in accounting rules for troubled banks in three weeks.

Hope that financial institutions might finally get relief in how they value their bad assets spurred a flurry of buying on Wall Street, which accelerated when Bank of America Corp.'s CEO told reporters his bank was profitable in January and February. Citigroup Inc. triggered this week's rally Tuesday with similar remarks.

"We might find that the banks are not as bad, or not bad at all, if these assets are marked differently," said Doreen Mogavero, president of the New York floor brokerage Mogavero, Lee & Co.

Stocks also got a boost as retail sales figures came in better than anticipated, General Electric Co. got its credit rating cut by less than expected and General Motors Corp. said it will not need a $2 billion loan it previously requested from the government.

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