gcc compiled binaries give "cannot execute binary file"

I compile this program:

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
    printf("Hello World!");
    return 0;
}

With this command:

  gcc -c "hello.c" -o hello

And when I try to execute hello, I get

bash: ./hello: Permission denied

Because the permissions are

-rw-r--r-- 1 nathan nathan   856 2010-09-17 23:49 hello

For some reason??

But whatever... after changing the permissions and trying to execute again, I get

bash: ./hello: cannot execute binary file

I'm using gcc (Ubuntu 4.4.3-4ubuntu5) 4.4.3

What am I doing wrong here? It's gotta be obvious... it's just too late for me to keep using my tired eyes to try and figure out this simple problem....

P.S. I do (sometimes) work on programs more sophisticated than Hello World, but gcc is doing this across the board...