One thing that is certain is that many people on Wall Street are very good at wrapping up old things with newpaper and selling them to unknowing investors.
It does everything from breeding new seeds and cattle, to creating ultra-thin edible wrappingpaper for foodstuffs that changes colour when the food goes off, to running a nanotechnology laboratory creating biodegradable ultra-strong fabrics and wound dressings.
Gift giving is all about what's under that wrappingpaper rather than the package itself, but when the holidays are over those shiny new gadgets won't just protect themselves from the inevitable wear and tear.