.jpg)
It seems like it happened years ago, but it's been only about a month since Wall Street had its huge, post-plummet surge. Touting it as the biggest one-day point gain in the history of the market, newspapers around the country featured pictures of financial industry professionals grinning and bouncing, hugging each other like it was V-J day and they were all unwed nurses wearing fresh lipstick. In The New York Daily News, the stock market dancing monkey du Jour was a red-headed guy with a close-cropped hairdo, extravagant sideburns, and the standard blue trader's jacket. In picture after picture, the paper featured him leering, giving a thumbs-up, and hugging a burly fellow trader who was a dead-ringer for actor Michael Lerner.
At the time, I heaped scorn upon the head of the poor unknown trader, mocking his excessive enthusiasm, mildly frightening grin, and overall air of mindless faith in the system. Being something of a cynic, I knew that today's high would be almost matched by tomorrow's low, which would be followed by another dizzying high, and so on as the market tried to find equilibrium. I saw the redheaded trader's excessive enthusiasm as indicative of the kind of cocksure investing that got us into this mess in the first place.
Shareholders of 
Will Rich Ross really have a positive impact on Disney's movie operations?
Consumers sick of recession, may spend extra on holidays
Corrections, seasonality and Santa Claus
