P.S. And even if American investors do remain a bunch of saps, there is little reason to believe foreign investors will continue to be so credulous and stay supportive of U.S. securities markets. Heed the wisdom of Felix the Fixer (Rohatyn) in the current NY Review of Books:
"The events surrounding the bankruptcy of Enron go beyond the sordid situation of Enron itself and raise the larger question of the integrity of our financial markets. That integrity must be maintained to protect our own investors, to finance economic growth, and to maintain the flow of foreign investment. As of the end of 2001 about 15 percent of all shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ were foreign-owned. They had a value of approximately $2 trillion. We must keep in mind that we require about $1 billion per day of capital inflows to finance our trade deficit. A decrease in foreign investment would have seriously damaging effects on the securities markets, the stability of the dollar, and the economy generally. The last thing we should tolerate is a loss of confidence in our capital markets."
[See http://www.nybooks.com/articles/15140]
Carl
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