NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Bit of a power outage on the Street today. At the open it appeared that Wall Street was set to celebrate the final stages of the war in Iraq. Indeed Germany, England, and France all closed 3 to 5 percent higher today. And at first we were sharply higher in the U.S. too, 200+ up on the Dow in the early going, but then the ardor cooled during the day, chilling way off in the final hour. (Maybe it was the freakish heavy snowstorm in NYC today.)

In the end, the Dow climbed 23 points to 8,300, while the NASDAQ was up 6 to 1,389. Barely budged! Hey watch me, Paul Theroux (his latest "Dark Star Safari" is a very good one), I mean Andy Serwer, on CNN's "American Morning with Paula Zahn," and Headline News. Read Loose Change to get my NCAA pick! Here's wazzup:

STOCKYARD Rather disheartening end to the day. (Least we finished with a gain!) I mean the war seems to be winding down and I thought least we could get is a little stock rally. (Actually since the beginning of the war, the market is just about flat.)

So everyone who said it would be just like 1991 -- when the market rallied and never looked back -- is wrong. Why? Is the economy in worse shape? Well it could be that, although that's kind of a close call, and anyway the war was supposed to get us back on the road to recovery.

Is it because this is a much bigger war than the first Gulf War? I would say no. If anything we are fighting it more efficiently. The number of Americans killed in action is still significantly below the number killed in 1991. (I don't have exact figures but I think it is close to 75 today versus more than 130 then -- of course this war isn't over.) Why then? Well I think the real reason is the sense that the last war was a one-step proposition, and this one isn't. Last one was: Drive Saddam out of Kuwait = done. This one is what, part of a bigger fight against terrorism? The other point is that the world was on our side last time...

Even though the market didn't go up much in the end, at least volume was decent and the rally was broadbased. On the NYSE, GE and Ford got nice little pops. At da Naz, MSFT, Intel and Oracle were all up even more...

Most active stock today was AOL (CNN/Money's parent), which was upgraded by Morgan Stanley. Hey, it broke $12!! Altria gained also; Goldman says chances of MO going bankrupt are tiny. McDonald's rolled out its new plan today. I guess there were some believers -- stock was up over a buck!...Cheeseburger in paradise indeed.

OPEN LETTER TO WARREN BUFFETT Since I have been so critical of your GEICO gecko TV commercials, I thought it would only be fair to tell you when I thought your ad folks did something right! Which they now have done in a big way! The new Dairy Queen ads for the thick Blizzards, with the two guys where the one guy makes funny noises and says "Dude!" is a slam dunk!! Keep running it!

Me, my kids, my friends and my co-workers love it! Make these guys the new Dell Dude (Sans pot! I hear they are already being called the DQ Dudes? Put them on the DQ Web site!!) Be interesting to know if the one I like (DQ) does well and the one I don't (GEICO) doesn't -- hope it's not the opposite!...DUDE!

FROM THE WAR FRONT Another in a series of reports from the war front by some of the world's top journalists. This comes from Daryn Kagan: "Kuwait has been a fascinating experience. It's such an interesting mix of modern and ancient, especially when it comes to Kuwaiti women. You see women in all types of dress. Many women wear 'abayas' -- the long black robes and headcovering that have only the eyes peeking through. But there are also plenty of women who dress very western.

In fact, if you go to any of the malls, you see store after store that sells nothing but tight, low-riding jeans and tight, low-cut t-shirts. The young women here have far more opportunity here than I would've expected. Many of them have studied at universities in the United States. They say when they come back here they have many opportunities w/private companies, but not as much with government ministries. But even with all this opportunity, women in this country still do not have the right to vote." Thanks Lady D! Be safe!

REPORT FROM ASIA ON SARS This from NS: "Devastating effect on economies of Singapore and Hong Kong, I would say; probably not so bad elsewhere in region; absolute fiasco in terms of government. Management of problems with issuance of one contradictory statement after another. Part of that due to the fact that they really didn't know what they were dealing with in terms of how contagious it is, how it is transmitted, etc.

Net net: Contradictory, confusing, obfuscating statements against a backdrop of increasing numbers of infections and deaths. Among other things, the overall fallout has to include a credibility deficit that has a taint over anything these governments (especially Hong Kong and China) are saying. In Singapore, they said they would not close the schools because if they did, they wouldn't know when they could ever reopen (that sounded like a real good reason to keep them closed). The next day they closed the schools.

They report that the disease is hard to catch; later in the newscast they announce people on the same airplane as an infected person are getting infected. It's like that." Thanks N, what a mess. See below for State Dept warning.

TOPIC A Okay, I'm sorry, but instead of all these reports of fighting around the airport and mopping-up operations, the real question is: Where in the world is Saddam Hussein and what are they doing to try to find him?! Is it really true that the Pentagon is saying, it's not about finding him anymore?! PLEASE! I can't believe they are saying that! After all this, we better get him! Can you imagine him running around, running amok! No way!

But you bet your sweet bippy he is doing EVERYTHING in his power to try to escape (dress up like an old woman, jump in a boat, paddle out the Euphrates at night....) Listen, we have some history here, we never get anyone! Qaddafi. Bin Laden. Anthrax man. Come on! My understanding with Saddam is that we don't have any DNA. (So how do we know if we have him, with all those doubles...) That would have been a great Special Forces op. Sneak in a palace and pick up a used Kleenex or toothbrush!

From Peter P: "Instead of ticker tape we have snow. That says it all doesn't it!"...Hey is that new drug Singulair made by Cingular?...

Christine Chen reminds us that a big day is coming April 29: (Free ice cream at Ben & Jerry's!)...

Here is State Dept. warning: "SARS: PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Office of the Spokesman. This information is current as of today, Mon Apr 07 14:07:07 2003. SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME (SARS) IN ASIA This Public Announcement is being issued to alert Americans that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a travel advisory and health alert notices, which are being distributed at ports of entry to people returning from the three SARS-affected regions. CDC advises that people planning elective or nonessential travel to mainland China and Hong Kong; Singapore; and Hanoi, Vietnam; may wish to postpone their trips until further notice. This Public Announcement expires on June 26, 2003...."

Kansas versus 'Cuse. Kansas has to win this game, though if Syracuse does pull it out, look for the return of the Zone. The 'cuse guys say that the Frosh thing doesn't matter, but it really really does. Watch for one or two key mistakes. By the way, the insiders at UNC say the next coach is fer sure going to be Roy Williams. Maybe, but first he MUST win, tonight!

Andrew Serwer is editor-at-large of Fortune magazine.

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