THERE’S no doubt about it: America is in the throes of a bear market.
Teddy bears, that is.
One strange consequence of the prolonged decline in U.S. stock prices is a sharp increase in the sales of plush teddy bears – especially in the Wall Street area.
“The comfort factor generated by teddy bears seems to be a major reason why sales have been so strong,” said Paul Roche, senior vice president of Aurora Plush, a maker of teddy bears.
“In downtown Manhattan, where the New York Stock Exchange is located, in Midtown Manhattan where so many of the brokerage firms have moved, in downtown Chicago – home of the Chicago Board of Trade- and in San Francisco’s financial district where the Pacific Stock Exchange is housed, plush toy sales at many of the toy and gift stores are doing excellent business,” Roche said.
He thinks the jump has to do with the fact that a teddy bear “remains loyal while their customers’ stocks are dropping by 90 percent.”
Maybe.
But Wall Street has never been known for its softhearted workers. Bull’s Eye suspects the teddy bears are gag gifts commemorating the bear market.