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Pastimes : The Naked Truth - Big Kahuna a Myth -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Joseph G. who wrote (9581)	10/27/1998 9:35:00 PM
From: MythMan	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 86076

Seems like only yesterday... >>By The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) -- A year later, it's clear that the scary 554-point plunge taken by the Dow industrials didn't mean the end of the world, or even the bull market. But while a record-setting rebound has helped ease the sting of the huge drop last Oct. 27, the irritants behind that sudden selling frenzy are hardly a thing of the past. Trading was halted twice that day as the Dow Jones industrial average tumbled, setting off two ''circuit breakers'' for the first time since they were created in reaction to the ''Black Monday'' crash of 1987. The 1987 crash of 508 points, which had occurred almost exactly 10 years before last October's selloff, did three times as much damage in percentage terms, knocking down the Dow 22.6 percent. But the 554 points lost on Oct. 27, a record for one session, clearly shook people up, threatening an end to one of the most lucrative bull markets in history. While a lot has happened since then -- a trail of record highs from February through July and another 500-point plunge on Aug. 31 -- the story remains much the same a year later. In effect, the selling frenzy that took hold in October 1997 was merely the beginning of a feeble attempt to quantify the impact of economic crises in faraway places. Just as the Dow was cresting at 9,337.97 on July 17, the sickly finances crippling Asia were beginning to infect the Russian economy. Thanks to a 1,000-point rally over the past few weeks, the Dow is trading near 8,400. But as recently as Oct. 8, the famed market barometer was flirting with 7,400, only about 400 points above the lows set a year ago. And still, there's no clear resolution to how long and how much the economic instability will hurt profits at American companies. Fears of recession abound, and for good reason. The latest data shows that U.S. factories continue to be hurt by weak export demand. The threat of job cuts, as well as the psychological impact of all the gyrations in the stock market, have clearly begun to erode consumer confidence. But on the positive side, the Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates twice in the past month, bolstering hopes that the central bank will steer an increasingly sluggish economy to another ''soft landing.''<< We'll see how soft.