"We assess that al-Qaeda is in its weakest financial condition in several years." – senior U.S. Treasury Department official David Cohen. Apparently, a slow quarter of fundraising, coupled with al Qaeda executives' risky reluctance to invest in opium products, cigarette smuggling or bootleg music and computer software, has left them at a competitive disadvantage to upstart firms like the Taliban and Hezbollah. "These smaller, faster local operations are actually better suited to weather a recession," said CNBC financial analyst Jim Cramer. "There's always a bull market somewhere. But a monolithic dinosaur like al Qaeda just can't shift gears quickly enough to find it." Other experts blame the rating agencies for this latest blow to the world economy. Standard and Poors awarded al Qaeda stock a strong "triple-A" rating just last week. "The rating agencies are supposed to be minding the store," said The Times' Gretchen Morgenson. "The terrorism market was obviously headed for trouble. Good times can't last forever." 8