Yesterday the WSJ ran the headline “Stocks Snap Losing Streak”. Of course that’s good news as it means the economy is finally picking up, right? The long financial slog might be coming to an end as consumer confidence builds, NFL refs get back on the job, and the positive rhetoric of the Presidential race renews our faith in America. As I basked in the glow of a new beginning (and a new monitor), something was niggling in the back of my head. First I thought it was my toddler son standing behind me with yet another leaky bottle, but then I realized it was the headline itself. This was definitely not the first time I read it. Somewhere in the murky depths of my caffeine-deprived memory, I recalled a similar sounding proclamation. Could it have been just last month? Not wanting to trust my own recollection (I learned my lesson after manufacturing false memories of the Mets making the playoffs last year,) I turned quickly to Google. After a brilliant usage of directed search terms, I came up with images of people making duck faces. Although slightly entertaining in a scary kind of way, I kept wading down through the results until I suddenly triumphed. On Wednesday August 3rd, CNBC ran the headline “Dow Ends 8-Day Losing Streak”. Imagine that! Two consecutive months where losing streaks were snapped. I rolled the dice again. Bingo! On July 13th the Moody’s Market Wrap reported “Stocks Snap Losing Streak”. And then again. On June 5th TheStreet.com ran the headline “Stocks Snap Losing Streak”. On May 25th CNN Money blared “Stocks snap three week losing streak”. And that was following up on their April 11th headline “Stocks snap five-day losing streak”. At which point I began to feel a little queasy. That was already half a year of losing streaks being snapped. You can’t help but think of the old housewife adage regarding department store sales: “I can’t afford to save anymore.” The situation was so distressing that I felt compelled to action. However, just at that moment a pop-up campaign ad inserted itself on my screen, and boy did I feel better.