The New Faces of the Markets

Abstract

The faces of Wall Street may be somber, but don't bet against them.

On Monday, September 10, 2001, the Wall Street crowd was talking about capital expenditures, consumer confidence, the Federal Reserve Board, and when the George W. Bush tax cut would ripple through the economy. Seven days later, on Monday, September 17, there was a new face on the Street. This face was somber and wore a mask to protect against the smoky air, sported U.S. flags, watched the “rent-a-kilowatt” trucks accompanied by electrical generators, and set about making “patriotic buys.”

Experts expected the opening of the NYSE on September 17 after four days of no trading to produce, at the least, “sloppy” trading and extreme volatility—if not an operational crisis and a meltdown. Instead, the NYSE opened in an orderly fashion and the Dow repriced in what was, under the circumstances, a moderate fashion.

J.P. Morgan had it right when he said, “The man who is a bear on the future of the U.S. will always go broke.”