Dow 9,000! Perfect Game!

It’s been quite an afternoon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 9,000 for the first time since Jan. 6.

The widely-followed index gained 187 points, or 2.1%, to close at 9,069, the Dow’s highest close since Nov. 5.

Then Mark Buerhle of the Chicago White Sox threw the major leagues’ first perfect game since 2004. Don’t miss the replay of Sox center fielder DeWayne Wise leaping over the wall to rob Tampa Bay’s Gabe Kapler of a ninth inning home run.

But I digress.

The Dow is now up 8% over the past two weeks and the rally that began in early March, after the stock markets had plunged to 12-year lows continues to gain steam.

Everything from a rise in existing home sales to an unexpected $2.3 billion second-quarter profit at Ford Motor Co. reinforced Wall Street’s growing conviction that the recession is bottoming out this summer and a recovery could begin later this year.

Is that realistic? The lastest issue of “The Buzz” on CNNMoney.com discusses how much the economy has really changed over the past four months.