As part of a research project (news on that coming!), I have watched most of the last 3 days of CNBC’s daily programming (trading hours in the US). Historically, it was a good time to tune in no doubt, but I seriously wonder about the mental health of anyone who can listen all day long to fundamental opinions – especially when markets are gyrating over 200 points a day on the Dow. One minute a 30 point Dow rally is news and all smiles, them the market closes down 169 and screams for the Fed to cut abound. Everything has a reason and everyone has an opinion. Why not say what Jim Simons has said about early August so far (“we were not lucky”)? Doesn’t that sound more real?
Don’t get me wrong, many of CNBC’s on air reporters are talented broadcasters and fun to watch as entertainment, but they are tasked with making random price movements appear exciting. They are tasked with connecting random price movements to “meaning”. And that is impossible regardless of how good a broadcaster one might be.
