(The Industry Standard)

Maybe editors figured that readers' eyes were glazing over when they saw dot-com gloom stories, or maybe the holidays inspired a note of optimism, but for whatever reason, reporters were looking hard for the silver lining on the financial storms we're weathering.

CBS MarketWatch was in a particularly cheery mood this weekend, sporting headlines such as "The tide begins to turn" and "The bottom may be in sight." "We're seeing buying interest from institutional customers that we haven't seen since January," the head of trading and president of Pacific Growth Equities told reporter Julie Rannazzisi. An equity strategist told why: "People are afraid of missing the bottom."

But whether or not the markets have bottomed out, L.A. Times scribe James Flanigan gave us hope by explaining that when the going gets tough, the tough start investing. "Successful companies are preparing now to gain position in the next upturn," said Floyd Kvamme, a partner at venture firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Flanigan cited both Intel and optical-networking golden child JDS Uniphase as having increased their spending this year. Intel is just following the advice of its recently retired co-founder, Gordon Moore, who said, "you don't get healthy on old products."

Among those thriving in the downturn is the Peace Corps, which is picking up new recruits from the ranks of the downsized, according to the New York Times' Abby Ellin. In San Francisco, where applications are nearly double the number of last spring, the Peace Corps recently ran an ad in a weekly newspaper asking, "Dot Com, Dot Gone? Now It's Time To Network With the Real World." Not everyone will be building fisheries, however. Ellin notes that 13 percent of the service is now in the business sector, and some volunteers are taking "Peace Packs" of computers and modems with them abroad. I guess you can take the dot-commer out of the startup, but you can't take the startup out of the dot-commer.

Finally, the downturn is bringing smiles to the faces of Silicon Valley commuters who report to the San Jose Mercury News' Gary Richards that traffic is unusually light. One gleeful driver, whose 35-minute drive has dropped as low as 12 minutes, said, "if this is what layoffs are about, let the ax slice away. ... This is truly what the valley should be like." Which is a great attitude to have, assuming that you still have somewhere to drive each morning.

The Bottom May Be in Sight
CBS MarketWatch

The Tide Begins to Turn
CBS MarketWatch

Despite the Lean Times, Tech Firms Still Investing in the Future
Los Angeles Times

Preludes: Dot-Coms' Loss Is Peace Corps' Gain
New York Times
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Commuters Noticing Less Traffic, Smoother Trips
San Jose Mercury News

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