Dupe, please lock

[Robb]

Analysts See Bigger Stock Rally - If Bin Laden Found

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The capture of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein gave an initial boost to stock markets worldwide on Monday, leading some analysts to believe that a bigger rally would occur if the United States reels in Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Market players said capturing the elusive al Qaeda leader would give stock markets a significant boost, at least in the short term, since bin Laden is seen as having a more direct link to global terrorism than Saddam Hussein.

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News that U.S. troops had captured the former Iraqi dictator over the weekend sparked early rallies in stock markets from Tokyo to London and New York on Monday, only to peter out by the close of trade in some locales.

(snip)

Capturing Osama "would lead to an initial strong move, but then people's focus will return to economic data and corporate earnings and the economy at large," Gottlieb predicted. "In the end, it's data and earnings and the economy that's going to move the market."

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'Nuff said.