Seems like "a" ,not "the", triumph of capitalism. Charles Brown >>> "Ellen T. Frank" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 01/07 12:16 PM >>> At 10:45 AM 1/7/99 -0500, you wrote: >BLS DAILY REPORT, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 1999 >The prevailing view at the three-day meeting of the American Economic >Association was that high stock prices probably reflect the economy's actual >strength and not a speculative bubble that could burst. ... In the minds of >many economists, the stock market serves mainly as a gauge of the real >economy and a stimulus for spending. Over the last few days, I have been looking over data on wages, exports, bankruptcies, etc. in the former so-called emerging markets. International capital, it seems, is really putting the screws to the laboring classes in Asia and South America. Asian assets are on sale at rock-bottom prices; commodity prices are so low, they're practically giving them away. Is this not the triumph of capitalism? Little wonder the Dow hit 9500. Ellen Frank