Rally Takes a Holiday

When you go on vacation and determine not to keep close tabs on the markets, there are still ways the markets have of finding you.

On Presidents Day, there was no news to ignore -- markets were closed -- and talk around the hotel pool and in the elevator was of suntans, dinner plans and spring training. But after last Tuesday's sharp selloff and the seemingly bizarre link to South Korea selling dollars, even vacationing parents heading to the beach were wondering aloud if their portfolios were in trouble. A friend at dinner asked why the Koreans were raising the cost of her new mortgage. And I found myself peeking at the headlines on the business page on my way to grabbing my morning coffee.

But when no further damage was done, attention returned to Floridian pursuits for the rest of the week. And though I'm now getting back in the flow, I doubt many beachcombers will even notice Monday's regression. ...