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Dow at 14-Month High -  CNNMoney.com -- Stocks rallied Tuesday as worries about Dubai's debt problems eased, gold hit a record above $1,200 and GE and Comcast moved closer to a deal on NBC Universal.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 127 points, or 1.2%, closing at the highest point since Oct. 2, 2008. The S&P 500  index gained 13 points, or 1.2%, and closed just short of a 14-month high. The Nasdaq composite rose 31 points, or 1.5%, and remained short of a 14-month high hit a week ago.

Bets that Dubai's debt problems won't have a major impact on U.S. institutions lifted stocks late Monday and through Tuesday's session. Stocks also reacted to the day's better-than-expected economic readings on construction spending and pending home sales.

Home Sales Contracts Higher in October - CNNMoney.com -- Americans are inking a lot of deals to buy homes.

In October the National Association of Realtors recorded an unprecedented ninth consecutive month of increases in the number of signed contracts.

Although these are not closed sales, and some deals can fall through, signed contracts are a good indicator of where the housing market is headed.

Between September and October NAR's Pending Home Sales Index rose 3.7% to 114.1 from 110 in October. But the index is 31.8% higher than a year ago, when it was 86.6. That's the biggest year-over-year gain in the history of the index.

NAR's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, gives much of the credit for increased sales to the homebuyer's tax credit, which first-time homebuyers could claim to reduce their taxes by up to $8,000.