Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Breaking News: Maria Bartiromo's Stupid Comment of the Day

As I was working and listening to CNBC just before the 4PM close, I heard Maria Bartiromo making a hash out of an interview with some trader or fund manager.

The guy was talking about volatility, and how he was hoping to make money selling volatility as it fell.

Bartiromo, grasping at straws and, as usual, having no sensible follow-up question prepared blurted out a question paraphrased as,

'So can viewers use that declining volatility to bet on market direction?'

Just read that line again.

With all the smart hedge fund quants beavering away around the US, do you- does anyone....even Maria Bartiromo- really think that such a simple relationship could actually work?

How dense can someone be to ask such a pointless and obviously silly question?

Dense enough to be featured on CNBC commercials claiming that the network's being 'first to report from the floor of the NYSE' had anything to do with reporting from 'where decisions are made?'

Last I looked, the trading floor is empty now, because trading is electronic. Decisions were always made in trading rooms of investment banks and fund management firms.

But, then, someone who thinks volatility alone predicts market direction might also think that traders make decisions for their clients from the floor of the NYSE.

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