As many of you are no doubt aware by now, I'm the Opening Bell Editor at Dealbreaker. As first weeks go, it's been an fun experience writing the column. There are two things in particular I enjoy so much about the experience: the first is being up early again, getting to sift through and summarize all the news. When you're having to actually trawl though it, and comment on it, it puts you in a very up-to-date position almost by default.
The second is getting to interact will all the readers of Dealbreaker, many of whom are market participants themselves. Essentially, it's a front-row seat to the action on Wall Street, much as my former column at TheStreet was a front-row seat to the Asian markets.
The following is an amusing comment by a reader from today's Opening Bell, which I have to say, I agree with in its entirety. Actually, I think it's fair to say the comment is only half tongue-in-cheek. If financial journalists took the following advice, many retail investors would potentially be spared the pain of unnecessary fear over 401K losses.
(As an aside, you can find the Opening Bell column HERE every morning EST).
RULES FOR FINANCIAL JOURNALISTS IN TODAY'S MARKET
In a time of Wall Street greed that needs to be re-regulated, it’s time to also issue some new rules for financial journalists:
1) Stop printing pictures of traders looking stressed. The fact is, the market could be up 10% that day and the trader would still look stressed because he’d just received a call from his wife saying she was leaving him for some young Latin guy.
2) Stop writing stories about stupid people, expecting us to feel sorry for them. Articles about the 63-year-old Bear Stearns secretary who’d worked there for 30 years and put all of her retirement savings into BS stock: that’s a stupid person story, and I don’t feel sorry for her.
3) Stop using the word “recession” when you don’t even know what it means. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. In other words, we won’t know we’re in a recession until after the fact. And that hasn’t happened yet.
4) Stop saying this is an economic crisis. I’m still getting paid the same, and gas prices have actually gone done. On that note, I got a great deal on a new pair of khakis at GAP last night. 40% off. This is a credit crisis, evidenced by trader Joe next to me paying more for commercial paper.
*UPDATE* For sheer amusement -- Dealbreaker's take, plus more pictures of trading floor mayhem here.
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