US recovery "unstoppable"

The US economic recovery is looking strong, according to the ECRI. Reuters reports:

The Economic Cycle Research Institute, a New York-based independent forecasting group, said its Weekly Leading Index rose to 126.2 in the week to Sept. 11 from an upwardly revised 126.0 the prior week, a figure ECRI originally reported as 125.4.

It was the group's highest index reading since Aug. 29, 2008, when it was 126.3.

The index's annualized growth rate ticked up to a fresh record high of 22.9 percent from an upwardly revised high of 22.5 percent, which was originally reported as 21.3 .

Such a concerted move among all of the index's components suggest an "unstoppable" recovery ECRI Managing Director Lakshman Achuthan told Reuters.

Investors appear confident enough about the economy. From Bloomberg:

U.S. stocks rose, extending the market’s second straight weekly advance, as analyst upgrades of companies from Procter & Gamble Co. to SanDisk Corp. and Chevron Corp. overshadowed concern equities have grown too expensive...

The S&P 500 advanced 0.3 percent to 1,068.30 at 4:10 p.m. in New York. The benchmark measure for U.S. equities rallied 2.5 percent this week. The Dow average added 36.28 points, or 0.4 percent, to 9,820.2, its highest close since Oct. 6. Six stocks gained for every five that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

The 58 percent rebound in the S&P 500 from its 12-year low on March 9 has pushed valuations in the index to about almost 20 times the reported earnings from continuing operations of its companies, the highest level since 2004, according to weekly data compiled by Bloomberg.