Or is it? I was just listening to Erin Burnett give her pre-opening rundown on the “Morning Joe” segment of MSNBC. (Erin is our favorite CNBC person these days.)

Erin was talking about an interview she did this week with Tiger Management’s Julian Robertson on the anniversary of the 1987 stock market plunge  (there is  history that involves me, Julian, Jim Cramer, and US Airways stock, but that is a story for another day). In this interview, Robertson made the comment that we have not even begun to see the worst effects of the housing slowdown. He sees the potential for a major, lingering recession in the making. (Wonder if he also has a big currency position in euros?)

This was certainly a cheery way to open the day — that and the comments from Caterpillar this morning. The heavy equipment manufacturer did not have good things to say about what it sees in the construction business — either commercial or residential.

So while the company produced its best-ever third quarter profit per share — as we have also seen with all the airlines that have reported so far this quarter, Caterpillar also sent the message that things are not looking 100% cheery on the horizon.

Speaking of that Wall Street meltdown anniversary, yes, today is the anniversary of the plunge in October 1987, Black Monday, when the stock market lost 23% of its value. It was the largest percentage drop in the stock market ever recorded.

At that time, 23% of the market was represented by 508 points.  Today, we would need to see a drop of more than 3000 points in one day to equal the same percentage drop.