Not Ugly Enough

So, are stocks cheap yet? Clearly, they're cheaper than they were two weeks ago. But are they Russian-ruble cheap? So ugly that they scare the dog? The answer depends largely on whether you believe that interest rates will fall further and corporate earnings will hold up in the face of Asia's spreading ills. A quick scan of Wall Street illustrates the debate. At Paine Webber, chief strategist Ed Kerschner holds the rosy view that stocks "have not been this cheap since October 1990." Chief guru Abby Cohen at Goldman Sachs similarly says, "Stocks are trading at undervalued levels." But at Morgan...