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1.Dowclosesabove16,000TheDowJonesindustrialaveragejumpsmorethan109pointstocloseat16,009.99astheindexpostsits40threcordhighthisyear.TheDow'sadvancewaspropelledbyabetter-than-expecteddropinjoblessclaimsandaSenatepanel'svotesupportingJanetYellen'sbidtoleadtheFederalReserve.Above,traderThomasDonato,center,worksontheflooroftheNewYorkStockExchange.(RichardDrew,AssociatedPress/November19,2013)ByTuoJianboNovember21,2013,6:03p.m.TheDowJonesindustrialaverageclosedabove16,000forthefirsttime,atestamenttoinvestors'hopethattheploddingeconomycangainmomentuminthecomingyear.Theindex,agaugeof30ofthelargestAmericancompanies,jumpedmorethan109pointstocloseat16,009.99.Thursday'sadvancewaspropelledbyabetter-than-expecteddropinjoblessclaimsandaSenatepanel'svotesupportingJanetYellen'sbidtoleadtheFederalReserve.Thestockmarketiscaughtupinitsmostfuriousrallyinadecade.TheDownotchedits40threcordhighthisyear.Ithasjumped22%sinceJan1.TheStandard&Poor's500indexisupnearly26%.Andthetechnology-ladenNasdaqcompositeindexhasbounded31.5%.Itdoesn'tgetanybetterthanthis,saidQuincyKrosby,marketstrategistatPrudentialFinancial.It'sbeenafantasticyear.Eclipsingthe16,000milestoneunderscoresthedramaticrecoveryinsharepricesfromtheirlowinMarch2009aftertheglobalfinancialcrisis.ItalsohighlightsthetremendousgainsenjoyedbyAmericanswhoholdfinancialassets—primarilystocksandrealestate—evenasvastswathsofsocietygrapplewithhighunemploymentandmeaslywagegains.ThemarketrallyhasbeenstokedbytheFed'seconomic-stimuluscampaign.Thecentralbankisbuying$85billionamonthinTreasuryandmortgagesecurities.Thathelpskeepinterestrateslow,whichencouragesborrowingbyindividualsandbusinesses.Theeasy-moneypolicyhashoistedcorporateprofitsandreinvigoratedthehousingmarket.Italsohassenthordesofinvestorsintothestockmarketinsearchofreturnsthatareunavailableonlow-yieldingbondsandbankaccounts.Theintensityofthestockrally,however,hasstirredconcernthatinvestorsmaybegettingaheadofthemselves,particularlyindividualswhohaverushedintostocksinthelastseveralweeks.Optimistssaysmallinvestorsaremovingcautiouslyintothestockmarketafterseveralyearsofshunningequities.Peoplearebeingprudentandbeingsmartabouthowthey'regettingintothemarketoverall,saidJ.J.Kinahan,chiefstrategistatTDAmeritradeinChicago.It'snot'IhavetogetinandI'mallin,'whichisoneofthemistakeswe'veseeninthepast.However,othersfearthatstocksare—inWallStreetparlance—meltingup.SomeonWallStreetarefrettingovertherecententhusiasmofsmallinvestors,whohavepouredmoneyintostockmutualfunds.Individualshistoricallybarrelintothemarketatthetailendofrallies.Theymissmostofthegainsbutleavethemselvesexposedtolosseswhenaneventualdownturnhits.Themostimmediatethreattothemarketistheexpectationthatthecentralbankwillbegintoreduceitsbondbuyingsometimenextyear.ThemarkettumbledinthespringwhentheFedhintedataso-calledtapering.Thecentralbankbackedoffwhentheeconomycooledinthesecondhalfoftheyear.It'snowwidelyassumedthatthetaperingwillstartinthefirsthalfof2014.Andthechancesofthatareboostedbyrecentstrongeconomicreports.OnThursday,theLaborDepartmentreportedthatthenumberofworkersfilingnewunemploymentclaimsfellforthefourthtimeinfiveweeks,to323,000fortheweekthatendedSaturday.Thedrop,from344,000thepriorweek,broughtthenumbertoitslowestlevelsincelateSeptember.Thestartof2014willalsobecrucialforthemarketoncecompaniesbegintoissuefourth-quarterearningsreports.Investorshavebeensomewhatnonplusedduringthelasthalfascompanieshavereportedless-than-spectacularresults.Earningssurgedin2010and2011astheeconomygainedsteam.Butprofitgrowthhasthrottledbacksincethen.2.Fewerpeopleblow401(k)retirementmoneyonmeaninglesspurchasesFewerAmericansarecashingouttheir401(k)savingstobuycars,clothesandothergoodswhentheychangejobs.(BrianvanderBrug/LosAngelesTimes)ByTuoJianboNovember13,2013,12:16p.m.FewerAmericansareblowingtheir401(k)savingsoncars,clothesandotherfrivolitieswhentheychangejobs.Only7.5%ofU.S.workerslastyearcashedouttheirretirementmoneytospendonpurchaseswhentheyleftajob,accordingtodatareleasedWednesdaybytheEmployeeBenefitResearchInstitute.That’shalfthe15.1%levelfromadecadeago,andone-thirdthe22.7%of20yearsago,accordingtoEBRI.Whenworkersleaveajob--oftenforanewpositionelsewhere--theyhaveseveraloptionswiththeir401(k)savings.Thatincludesrollingthemoneyintoanindividualretirementaccountorcashingoutandspendingit.(Dependingontheamountsinvolvedandthepoliciesofthenewemployer,workersalsocanleavethemoneyintheoldcompany’sretirementplanorrollitintoaplanatthenewemployer.)Thedecreaseinconsumption-relatedcashoutsisasignthatAmericans--atleastthosewhoaredisciplinedenoughtocontributetowork-basedplansinthefirstplace--aregettingthemessageabouttheimportanceofsavingforretirementandnotsquanderingitonunnecessarypurchases.Morethan4in10people(45.2%)rolledtheirmoneyintotax-preferredretirement-relatedvehicles,primarilyanIRAoranotheremployer’ssavingsplan,accordingtoEBRI.That’supslightlyfrom43.4%10yearsagoandupsharplyfromearlieryears.Itwas35.4%in1998and19.3%in1993.3.'StillMadeinBritain'websitechampionshome-grownstarsmakingeverythingfromclothestofurnitureByT