Rumors were far more relevant than bad jokes because rumors moved markets. It was widely believed that a small, bald man in a grubby room in Moscow started all rumors to wreak havoc on our Western market-based economy. The rumors bore an uncanny resemblance to whatever people feared most. Often the most unlikely of rumors caused panic in the markets. In two years, for example, Paul Volcker resigned from his post as chairman of the Federal Reserve seven times and died twice.
