Five anonymised historical charts were dealt to every player. The Monkey Index returned +0.32% across the same tape.
70 desks completed all five charts.
With money rotating back into tech, the market assumed relentless inflation would finally break consumer loyalty to household staples. Instead, the defensive floor held.
Cheap domestic gas had battered coal haulage, but the wider American recovery was shifting enough freight to convince the market the rails could still grow. This is the week the spring rally paused for breath.
Bear Stearns had already collapsed and the credit crunch was spreading, so even dependable dividend payers were being dumped to raise cash. This was the week the slide finally levelled off, a month before Lehman Brothers went under.
Cracks were already spreading through the credit markets, but investors treated cash-rich tech as a safe haven. The rally held its ground here, right on the eve of the 2008 crash.
Regional lenders had spent the summer drifting sideways, waiting for the Federal Reserve to finally lift interest rates off zero. Then the August global sell-off hit, and the calm broke.