Stocks posted their biggest gain in three months, commodities jumped and the euro soared amid improving U.S. economic data and rising confidence in Europe's efforts to help Greece. Investors, back from Monday's holiday, rushed into assets linked to economic growth, putting aside their worries of late last week, when fears of slowdowns in China and Europe dominated. Drastic price swings have been a hallmark of the past few weeks as traders flip-flop between optimism and pessimism about the fate of the global economy. "Last week, I think we saw a fear trade mixed with a greed trade," said Jim Paulsen, a strategist at Wells Capital Management. "Now, I think we're seeing that greed trade take over a little more clearly. People are looking at what else is out there if Greece is out of the way, and they see a lot to like." Among those factors were improvements in the U.S. economy. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Empire Manufacturing Survey showed conditions for New York manufacturers improved in February.[Read more...]