New Issues' New Low.(A)(EDITORIALS)

The Market: Just when we thought the new-issue market couldn't get any worse, it did. Not a single company came public in January. Reach for the paddles.

Granted, January's never been a big month for IPOs. Like crocuses, they push up as the weather warms. And yes, the new-issue market drew a blank in September as well. But that was in the middle of a 23% correction (on the Nasdaq).

Nope, it's bad news any way you look at it. Since President Bush took office , IPOs have averaged eight a month. Not as bad as in the 1970s, when you could count on one hand the companies going public each month. But not far from it, either.

It's the similarity with the 1970s that worries us. As we've noted, the market decline of the last three years bears little resemblance to 1990, 1987, 1980-81 or 1977. But it is eerily similar to the 1973-74 break, when the average stock plunged 75% and when months passed without a single new issue.

In some ways, it's been worse. In fact, in some ways it's been worse than even 1929-32, another case in point. The economic problems that attended both the 1973-74 and 1929-30 markets did not end when those bears bottomed. They continued for years.

Are we that certain the market collapse of 2000-02 hasn't done as much damage, at least to investors' psyches, as ...