, Columnist
The One Thing Congress Can Do to Help the Markets: Amity Shlaes
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Not what they expected. That's the take on the stock market's sudden decline this August. The third year of a president's term is normally a good one for stocks -- and history shows that when Congress is in recess, as it is now, markets almost always rally.
One product makes clear exactly how unusual this year's slide has been, and offers a clue as to why 2011 broke the rules. It's called the Congressional Effect Fund. Founded by Wall Streeter Eric Singer in 2008, the fund is premised on the idea that equity markets dislike a hostile Washington, tolerate a friendly Washington, but prefer an inactive Washington above all.