The relative lack of market panic over these developments has also been odd.

Well, the mutual-fund fellows are going to say it because the last thing they want is to encourage market panic.

When the market panic becomes intense enough, the argument goes, the Germans will capitulate.

A. My advice to all institutions would be, don't dump your stocks and start the market panic.

"The current market panic is the deepest I've ever seen, so this has to be the best buying opportunity of my lifetime."

They also say that Enron's failure was tied to a market panic and not to portrayals of its finances.

The ensuing market panic drove the price to an all-time high of $1100 per troy ounce in January 2001.

The market panic might be starting there today.

Also, if there is a market panic, investors may sell en masse.

That has left some people worried that the system will remain a time bomb, set to go off again during the next market panic.