Wall Street's Dead? Not Quite and Not Likely

It seems that a belief in the death of Wall Street has become a new paradigm. Anyone stating that Wall Street as we know it is dead and it will take many years, if ever, for it to return to it's glory days instantly becomes a credible expert. In the article I linked to at the bottom, The Economist states:

"The biggest fear on Wall Street is that finance, which accounted for a staggering 40% of corporate profits at the height of the credit bubble, faces decades of relative decline. The survivors will get the spoils, but the booty looks unappealing."

Is it just me, or is this typical depression-minded rhetoric that is common during severe economic downturns? I bet there was similar language in the papers when bond market imploded in the '80s.

In any case, the bubble has burst and financial sector will not constitute 40% of the overall corporate profits in the U.S. any time soon, but I doubt it will take more than five years for their profits to swell again.

Additional Resources:

• Wall Street's annus horribilis