New era, what new era

Every time a major boom of the stock market nears an end, commentators come up with a new theory that claims the arrival of a "new era", which reflects human being's desire to defeat recession for good. Just before the market crash in 1929, famous economist Irving Fisher did that, announcing that the then newly established Federal Reserve in the U.S. would do the job. By the market meltdown in 2000, it was the information technology that acted the one-time hero. The 2007 version was taken over by the theory of decoupling. With "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch" being an economic principle, the market rule should be: "There ain't no such thing as a 'new era'". A good thing about Chinese calendar is that it reminds us of the cycling of the nature. The family of twelve animals takes turn. Now, it is rat that is coming back. Unfortunately, Western calendar adds cardinal numbers -- 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and so on, as if time mindlessly shuttles us toward unmanned space of the universe.