It didn't take long for the headlines to arrive. Following the horrific events yesterday in London, I began seeing the punditry about another new "travel scare" that would set the industry back. "Watch the charts go red," was the message. Run! Be afraid!
Well, you can't blame them for trying. Those are the kind of scary phrases that gather eyeballs and pay the bills, even as they contribute to the problem.
But when I turned to some of my favorite travel companies to take a look, I found that the markets sure didn't believe it. Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), Southwest (NYSE:LUV), JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU), AMR (NYSE:AMR), and others weathered the storm better than many companies that have no direct exposure to terrorism. There was a similar lack of alarm at travel-dependent bookers like Priceline.com (NASDAQ:PCLN) and Sabre Holdings (NYSE:TSG).
I can admit it. I was planning to take full advantage of any panic selling I saw, but I can also admit this: I was glad I didn't get much of an opportunity.
Some might judge me a bit macabre for thinking about stock deals at such a time, but I'm a firm believer that nothing sticks a finger in the eye of murdering terrorist cowards like our refusal to bow to fear. It may not be much, but giving thought to the innocent victims and then getting back to life is as much as most of us can do. In fact, it's the one thing we can do to take away any potency these thugs might think they have.
It's definitely a different world out there since 9/11, both in investing and in real life. But it's not as bad as the fear mongers would have us believe. Roosevelt said the only thing we had to fear was fear itself, and to judge only by the resiliency of financial markets yesterday and today, it looks like the civilized world remembers it. That alone is reason for us to keep faith in a better future, economic and otherwise.
For related Foolishness:
- See why airlines are tough stocks, even when times are good.
- Why was Priceline marked down in May?
Priceline.com and JetBlue are Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendations.
At the time of publication, Seth Jayson had no position in any stock mentioned. View his Fool profile here.
