HEXUS.sharewatch: AMD, Intel, NVIDIA lead the charge in great week for tech stocks

Champagne time?

What does all this mean? Possibly nothing, but the FTSE is up a percent this morning and Ben Bernanke, the head of the US central bank, has said in an interview that he reckons the US recession will end this year.

The fact that this global recession started in the US and has not apparently been moderated much by continued growth in China shows how much the world still depends on the US as its growth engine.

Most of the world's biggest technology companies are American and many people will interpret a change in fortunes for the tech sector as reason for more general optimism.

However, as we said in our story last week, true recoveries are characterised by a more steady, protracted growth in share prices, so it will be a long time yet before we even put the champagne in the fridge, let alone open it.