Why will this rally be different?...  I'm going to give you the top 10 reasons why this one's different... 

Reasons why we may have a legitimate bottom...

1.  Hank Paulson (i.e., Treasury Secretary) woke up from his President Bush-induced slumber this weekend, and had a huge epiphany, and made it known that the government - the Fed - will do anything it takes to stop the system from breaking down...  He doesn't want that lasting legacy to be that the system collapsed under his treasury...

2.  Mortgage bonds actually traded up today... in part, because we smell a backroom deal between the White House and Fannie Mae (FNM)... a deal that would enable FNM to buy back its own bonds, which are ridiculously low.  That's something that will actually lower mortgage rates... not just interest rates... for once.

3.    Goldman Sachs (GS*) and Lehman Brothers (LEH) reported fabulous numbers.  Weren't they supposed to lose money?...  Wasn't LEH supposed to be in trouble?  Wasn't GS* supposed to be down $24, and not up $24 (like it was today)?... 

4.    Stocks - important stocks - are actually hitting 52-week highs... we're seeing great pin action.  You see, even thought the banks can't make it through a weekend without one of them facing insolvency, we actually have a real economy, and that real economy is in pretty good shape.  Who knew!

5.    There's no longer any reason to pull your money out of an investment firm, because we know now from Bear Stearns (BSC) that you will not get wiped out, if you keep your money there...  That's very new.

6.    We now have a plan for dealing with a bank or broker that's about to get crushed.  We've got a life support system... 

7.    Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), and First Solar (FSLR) showed first signs of life that I can almost remember in 2008... if not proof of life...  Until this, we had thought rigor mortis had set in for the momentum names...  AAPL's a real winner here, as I said last week.  And I believe in the press reports that came out, that shows that the Mac is taking share...

8.    The Visa Inc. (V) IPO is reason #8... That comes tonight... and I think you can make a fortune on this deal if you can get in on it...  If you couldn't get any Visa, buy some Mastercard (MA).  That's still way too low...

9.    Abbey Joseph Cohen... the biggest bull on Wall Street... the strategist who stayed bullish throughout this, the worst bear market in years... retired yesterday.  I always love a good irony trade.

10.    The market rallied, despite Ben Bernanke's best efforts to hold us back... his nutty inflationary worry in the statement, while our house loses value every day...   And the two people who voted against the rate cut, because they think the fundamentals are sound...  these people are supposed to be the hallowed economic geniuses who guide our country?... Unbelievable.  The Fed only cut 75 basis points - instead of 100, which is what we really wanted - but it didn't matter...  The dollar didn't go higher, something that was totally unthinkable...   Mortgage rates didn't go down...  something that was totally unthinkable... and you have to take your money out of your CD, because it doesn't make enough money... and go buy stocks with good dividends... also unthinkable...