The markets had strong gains this week, the Dow ended up 2.9%, the S&P up 3.8%, and the Nasdaq 3.7%. Stocks were boosted Wednesday by good news from Australian and Chinese markets and a positive ISM report. On Friday stocks also gained ground, bolstered by the bureau of Labor Statistics’ jobs report, which showed better-than-expected employment numbers. The report showed that while it may be true that the economy slowed a bit, it is at least not collapsing.

This week’s factoid: The World Meteorological Organization recycles their storm names every seven years, until such time that a hurricane gains enough notoriety that its name is “retired.” Thus, the storm currently threatening Labor Day plans is actually Earl IV.