"You know what the news is-- in a minute, you're going to hear the rest of the story"- Paul Harvey
Would you form your stock market opinions from a financial TV anchor with a pierced stud in his tongue? I guess this is known as tongue ring to the youth spending culture.
As I flip between CNBC and Bloomberg to get some pundit updates, I thought I noticed that Bloomberg's Matt Miller had a tongue ring. The more I watched, the metal little ball became more and more apparent. Being the curious person that I am, I began to wonder why a person of non Aztec and Mayan descent would inflict this type of pain upon themselves just to fit into a relatively small group of freaks.
As I began to ask this question, I got answers like fashion, a desire for pain, and intimate reasons. Oh, really?
I really don't care what other people do as long as it is not detrimental to me and my family. But, I have learned that people who pierce their tongues and other parts of their body are doing so to be different, and enjoy bucking the establishment. I guess this is the younger generation’s way to be cool and fit in. Okay, fine...I don't care.
But is there any better proof that young people like Matt Miller don't have the first clue about the inter-workings of the financial markets. Is there any better proof that Bloomberg's Matt Miller, or Betty Liu are nothing more than readers of financial news from a tele-prompter?
After viewing this Erin Burnett clip on Apple, we can clearly see that she is doing nothing more than reading off the tele-prompter. Calling Apple the sh*t stock for 2008 can't be her own opinion.
Obviously these people are very talented readers to make us believe that they actually know what they are talking about.
There some very good are financial commentators. I like CNBC's Joe Kernan and Mark Haynes. Kernan was a former stock broker, and often push the envelope except when interviewing the boss, GE's Jeff Immelt.
Mark Haynes is really my favorite, and looks like a guy dying to jump down someone throat whenever he feels the person he is interviewing is not being forthright. I guess that's why Mark is no longer in the studio, and CNBC banished him to the trading floor.
I do miss Mark Haynes. He would question a CEO or CFO like a Philadelphia Lawyer to get to the truth. As investors, you and I expect to hear the truth before we make important financial decisions, unfortunately Mark Haynes isn't there to protect us, and Joe Kernan can't do it along.
Becky Quick seems like a genuinely nice person. She is a graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in Political Science. She was born in 1972 however, so she doesn't remember any of the bad times in the market (1973-74, and 1987).
Maria Bartiromo graduated from New York University with a degree in journalism and a minor in economics. She got into some controversy when she was said to have had relationship with the former chief of Citigroup's wealth management business. The rumor was that her and her honey took corporate jet back to the U.S together from China.
Too bad she couldn't pry out any info from the Citigroup guy on the CDO and SIV scandal while taking the plane ride in 2007. This would have been a great exclusive before the news hit the street.
Erin Burnett worked as an analyst for Goldman Sachs in their investment banking division, where she worked on mergers and acquisitions. Here we go again, mother Goldman is everywhere. Burnett was born in 1976, so she too wouldn't remember the bad times of 1973-74, and 1987.
I did like her analysis of Apple however. I would like to hear more of that straight forward reporting. Do you think she could bring herself to grill her former boss Hank Paulsen?
The bottom-line in this little exercise is to remember where you get you news, and who is giving it to you. Since I am slightly dyslexic, and overdose on Diet Coke daily, I tend to look at the opposite side of every opinion on financial TV.
Today, the stock market sold off sharply after a big bellwether, GE reported disappointing earnings and cut its outlook for 2008. The company blamed the shortfall on a slowing U.S. economy and losses at its financial services business.
Higher energy prices caused the business at Frontier Airlines to crash. Frontier filed for bankruptcy protection, and its shares fell to 48 cents.
On the close, the DJIA fell -256.56 points, the S&P 500 was down -27.72, and the NASDAQ dropped -61.5 points.
