A sleeping elephant awakes

In the aftermath of the bursting of the dotcom bubble, we are all, as investors, perhaps a little more sensitive to the possibility that bullishness can easily shade into - in Alan Greenspan's celebrated phrase - "irrational exuberance". Attuned as we are to the idea that hubris often keeps close company with rising asset prices, we are entitled to feel nervous when we read that at the very moment the recent monsoon was inundating the streets of Mumbai, killing hundreds on the streets of India's financial capital, share prices were continuing to rise relentlessly along with the waters, push...