There is more joy in heaven for one repenting sinner than for 99 righteous people, says the Bible. The heavenly choir must have been in full song last week with the news that Stephen Roach, Morgan Stanley's chief economist and prime cheerleader for the bear cause, had a change of heart and was positive on the global economy for the first time in seven years.

Roach, like other bears, has had to watch in frustration as the global economy, with the exception of the eurozone, has chugged along rather nicely since mid-2003. Stock markets continue to set multi-year highs, growth has been neither too strong nor too weak and inflation remains tamed.