Sid looks back on "an incredibly difficult year past" What a year! When it began, I couldn't conceive of most companies being so crass, so insensitive, as to make reference to the impact 9/11 had on them. Boy, was I wrong. One, Motorola, went so far as to picture its products in use at the World Trade Center site—on the very cover of its report. It wasn't long before rescue workers told the press how awful Motorola's products were, how often they malfunctioned. I thought most annual reports, thanks to the Enron fallout (Enron just the tip of the iceberg), would expand out of control. Instead, annuals on the year averaged just under 49 pages, 8% fewer than the 53 pages average a year earlier. So much for my "finger on the pulse" of this great industry. "Transparency" is all the rage today; in fact, one 2001 annual report, for the Cincinnati-based public utility Cinergy, made reference to transparency. Promising (no doubt on behalf of its auditors, Arthur Andersen—remember?) to keep stockholders and the financial community fully and honorably apprised of its ups and downs. (Speaking of downs: It was only a matter of time until Andersen was history. Not just in Ohio, but worldwide.) Speaking of history: Thank goodness the SEC's bearded, portly Harvey Pitt was so outrageous, so egregious in his behavior that he finally was forced to fall on his own sword. Those who ascribed his timing—releasing his resignation during the wait for the mid-term election results—as an attempt to sneak under the radar of the media, busy with a far- bigger story...I say they were wrong. I truly believe Harvey thought HE was bigger than any dumb old election. Do I think substantive, lasting change will result from the Enron/Tyco International/Global Crossing brouhaha? You want my honest belief? No way. Big talk, beau coup hearings, a few folks fined, maybe one or two poor souls imprisoned. But I'll give it a year, maximum, before corporate shenanigans resume, things return to "the good old days" when companies could leak to Wall Street its results before the little guy, and woman, heard the news. A glimmer of hope, though, is the news report that 60% of respondents said they believe their year-end bonus will be "the same or slightly greater" than previously. That's a sign to me that things are on the mend. Now, if we can avoid war—make that World War III—and truly begin to clamp down on the terrorists among us, perhaps we can get back on the road to recovery. Not just for business, but for our individual psyches. Maybe we can resume the life men, women and children, not just in the United States, but around the world, had grown accustomed to. A life replete with sunshine and honey. Do I believe the new Cabinet position for Homeland Security will improve domestic security? I was among the 53% who said "no," vs. 47% who think it will have a positive effect. I say, all it has done is add a huge layer to our federal government. Sorry to be so pessimistic. Hope your holidays—assuming (of course) your religious beliefs (if any) permit their observance—are bright, that we all return next year full of optimism. Don't bet on it.

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