From the tidal wave of e-mails and comments I have received from numerous different sources I am under the impression that most investors view the recent rally in the world’s stock markets as a bear market rally. I suppose we would need to define a bear market rally as a rally that fails to make a new all-time high (for the S&P 500, above the 1576 reached in October 2007) and is also followed by a new low for this cycle (below 666 for the S&P 500 reached in early March 2009).

With the London Stock Exchange closed and the Office for National Statistics shut, yesterday’s rainy Bank holiday Monday provided the perfect chance for us to look back at three stories that astounded us last week – but which somehow escaped without comment at the time.

The Indian market as measured by the Mumbai Sensex Index is down 22% this year, about 25% below its all-time high reached in January. That’s not very surprising: China is down further (about 35%) and most other emerging stock markets have also fallen. Growth in 2008 seems likely to be slower than in 2007 and there are some signs of a credit crunch.