that we're in the worst economic mess since the great depression. literally from the first moments of his presidency on, president reagan let it be known that his top priority is the nation's economy. i put a freeze on pending regulations, and set up a task force under vice president bush to review regulations with an eye toward getting rid of as many as possible. the philosophy behind deregulation was that markets worked better than government controls. this bill represents the first step in our administration's comprehensive program of financial deregulation. tett: introducing deregulation, finance began to get much more creative and, frankly, much more profitable, too. in "money matters" this morning, wall street, where leaping stocks have investors jumping. when the market opens for trading this morning, the dow jones industrial average will stand at its highest level ever. cordtz: the past few months have been among the wildest in wall street's history. i need 65. stock and bond prices soared in a frenzy of activity. red sheet, pick up tanner!