In times of sorrow, anger or triumph, the business of America is always business.
As the world watched the awful scenes of 9/11 unfold, one of the talking heads on CNBC voiced what was apparently her (and presumably her producer's) main concern: "Obviously there's some doubt about whether the markets will open on time this morning".
Once the dust settled over the World Trade Centre and the preparations for war got under way, a small sideshow unfolded in New York. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the major exchanges carried out a detailed investigation into whether al-Qaeda had tried to profit from its foreknowledge of the atrocities by shorting airline stocks. No conclusive evidence was found, though the suspicions were never fully allayed.
Yesterday, as the world came to grips with the news of Osama bin Laden's death, CNBC was at it again. Another talking head posed the key question of the day to a guest panellist: "So what effect do you expect bin Laden's death to have on commodity prices?"
At least there won't be any need for an SEC investigation this time around. Looks like the Navy Seals didn't give bin Laden a chance to call his broker.
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