Dow Soars. Thanks, Tyra

By Ellin Martens

Sure it was fun in the bull-market '90s. But after Wall Street's recent plunges, who would want to ring the opening or closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange? Everyone, it turns out. Especially since Sept. 11, as heads of state and celebs troop to ground zero and want to stop by, requests to be a bell ringer are up. The N.Y.S.E.'s Bob Zito, who filters the requests, says the first five months of 2002 are almost booked. As a courtesy, Zito will call the volunteers on a bad market day to let them bow out, rather than be publicly tarred with a bearish brush. (President Clinton never rang the bell; his advisers warned him that the image would be replayed endlessly if the market dropped.) But while ringing was once limited mainly to heads of state and tony Wall Street types, things have got loosey-goosey lately. Since Sept. 17, when a phalanx of leaders appeared to help instill confidence in the reopening market, bell ringers have included such financial heavy hitters as Victoria's Secret model Tyra Banks and Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants. Hmmm. Wonder if Bob is into cyclicals or techs?

--By Ellin Martens