I can't help wallowing in the masochistic irony of this development, coming as it does on the heels of a week of the gloom-and-doomiest economic news since the great effing depression.

The humble penny is getting a redesign. Not long ago, folks were debating whether we even needed pennies anymore. Now, with the value of home equity and investment funds plummeting like rays of light into a supermassive black hole, it may be on the verge of achieving a renewed relevance - as we find the term "penny stocks" suddenly applying to former blue chips.