With the stock market up by around 20 percent since its September lows, and in the spirit of good cheer that should surround us at Christmas, I thought I’d set out some more ideas for “Bear Food,” companies that look likely to take a tumble in 2002 and beyond.

Marley was stoned to begin with. There was no doubt about that. E.B. Scrooge gazed thoughtfully across the Gulfstream V at his recumbent form as it sped towards the ScrooMar.com Christmas and New Year junket in Bora Bora.

As Argentina teeters on the brink of default, it’s worth looking at other possible defaulters in the world debt markets, and what nasty things their default might do to the world economy. As usual in this column, it’s not a pretty sight.

The collapse of Enron and a recent visit to Washington of DaimlerChrysler Chief Executive Officer Juergen Schrempp raises a very interesting question: What is the cost to society of avoidable incompetence by business and political leaders?