The bull run of 1996-97 left small-cap and midcap stocks in the dust, but now many big-cap growthies and financials are casualties.

FORBES: Cracks in the Nifty Fifty

Impact craters surrounding the cap appear to be filled with ice and dust that was either deposited by wind or condensation, or perhaps further remains from an earlier larger ice cap.

BBC: By BBC News Online Science Editor Dr David Whitehouse