In three weeks, Wall Street will note, if not celebrate, the 10th anniversary of the Crash of 1987. While your typical mutual fund portfolio manager was probably still in high school then, there still are plenty of graybeards around who rode out the panic and likely would do it again.
Just as comforting to some is the fact that the same man–Alan Greenspan–who has been widely credited with restoring confidence–still heads the Federal Reserve. In fact, his prudent policies, many say, have helped create the climate that the market now operates in–sustainable economic growth with the mildest inflation in decades–which makes a stock market crash highly unlikely.
Fed policymakers meet Tuesday and are expected to leave short-term interest rates unchanged. But stock market bears are once again warning that inflation is about to hit.
