The storm before the storm?

GIVEN Wall Street's penchant for reverse logic, it seemed an ideal way to kick off the spring season. On March 31st, Easter Monday, the skies suddenly darkened and dropped several inches of snow on New York city. Equally chilling, and, some might say, just as predictable, was the behaviour of Wall Street's traders. Still jittery after a Federal Reserve interest-rate hike the previous week, they picked up where they had left off before the Easter weekend, selling off stocks and bonds at an alarming rate.