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The Dow rallied Tuesday in its second largest one-day surge in history. Meanwhile, consumer confidence figures are at record lows.

The global credit crunch that kicked into high gear on Sept. 15 with the bankruptcy of U.S. financial house Lehman Brothers continues to rage across the globe. Meanwhile, on the hallowed ground of Wall Street, the Dow climbed back above 9,000 points on Tuesday, its second largest one-day surge and a gain of nearly 11 percent.

This could be a sign that the various efforts of the U.S. Treasury and U.S. Federal Reserve — including a $700 billion package to recapitalize banks — have begun thawing credit markets. Therefore, some effects of the financial lurch could include a relatively short recession and the vetting of poorly invested money (think subprime securities) followed by a quick return to growth.

Now can somebody please tell that to the U.S. consumers?

Consumer confidence figures released Tuesday will probably be lost among the celebration of the Dow’s massive resurgence. However, numbers released by leading research group New York-based The Conference Board indicate that U.S. consumer confidence levels are at their lowest since 1967 when records began being recorded.