Stock markets around the world experienced headline-grabbing falls on the last day of October 2011, but put that in perspective. Stocks had their best month in almost a decade. The Dow index rose 1,041 points, almost ten percent, in the month, its largest monthly percentage gain in nine years.
Stronger corporate earnings from corporations including Google and McDonald's and positive signs signs that the US economy was not as bad as feared. Retail sales rose 1.1 percent in September, the biggest gain in seven months.
