Special Opportunities Fund, Inc. *** Does March 9, 2009 ring a bell? That was the day the S&P 500 Index bottomed at 676 and the Dow Jones Industrial Index at 6,547. It is less than two years later and both indexes have roughly doubled (after dividends). I have been investing for more than 36 years and I cannot recall the stock market rising by such a great percentage in any two-year period. I don’t know what odds someone could have gotten on March 9, 2009 on a bet that the S&P 500 Index would return more than 100% within two years but my guess is they would be at least 1,000 to one. Since my memory is far from perfect, I found it educational to do a little research to determine what investor sentiment was like at that time. Here is an enlightening excerpt from the March 9, 2009 Wall Street Journal story entitled “Tech Drop Takes Down Stocks”: Markets seem unable to shake the perception that the global economy is rapidly deteriorating. Billionaire investor Warren Buffet said in an interview on CNBC television that the economy has “fallen off a cliff.” The World Bank forecast that the global economy is likely to shrink for the first time since World War II. “I don’t know if I’ve ever heard as many people being negative on the market as what’s happening right now,” said William Lefkowitz, chief derivatives strategist at vFinance Investments. The S&P 500-stock dropped 6.85 points, or 1%, to 676.53, its lowest close since September 12, 1996, as its tech sector sank 3.2%. The S&P 500 has not seen two consecutive days of gains since the two days ended February 12. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 25.21 points, or 2%, to 1268.64, its lowest close since October 16, 2002. Google sank 5.7% to $290.89. Another Journal story published that same day, entitled “Dow 5000? There’s a Case for It,” quoted several pundits on that scary prospect. Here is an excerpt: “There’s a good chance the market could keep going lower,” says Bill Strazzullo, chief market strategist at Bell Curve Trading. His firm’s targets are 500 on the S&P and 5500 on the Dow, using charts of buying and selling trends. A small bounce may come around 650 for the S&P as short sellers take profits around that level, Mr. Strazzullo says. Long-term buyers have also been “active” at about those levels and may help push prices higher temporarily, he says. 2