>>>>Sorry to vent so much but there are a lot of people
who have gotten hurt by CNBC'S failure to present both sides
of every story and the mindless cheerleading that goes on
when a stock "beats" its numbers.<<<
I would argue that we try to present both sides whenever possible. I would also argue that NO ONE has been hurt by CNBC. We do not go out and buy and sell people's stocks for them. We are merely a cable channel.
Due diligence is something every investor must do. CNBC is merely part of a huge mix of research tools available for that purpose. If someone feels CNBC has presented only a positive side to a particular company, then it is the investor's job to go out and look for the negatives. Then and ONLY then, can one make a responsible investment decision.
Ya know, CNBC didn't go out and buy these stocks for viewers, or tell people to ignore P/E's or buy companies about which they know nothing. The lottery atmosphere sometimes seen in this bull market was created IMHO by individual investors as well as institutions that took conventional wisdom and traditional metrics and tossed them out the window.
I wish I could count how many analysts I have spoken to who, when pressed, have insisted valuations are meaningless and that the internet sector, as an example, is unmeasurable in conventional terms...that this sector is a new frontier and like none other. Well people bought the advice and bought the stocks and if they lost money, who's to blame? We question these people ad infinitum. We can only air their answers and question them about the wisdom of those answers.
Again, people in the market must take responsibility for their actions. Few if any who have made money are coming to complain that touts and shills have steered them wrong even if the advice they got WAS misinformed on its face.
The ones who complain are those who lose money, And believe me no one likes to see anyone lose money. BUT I can promise you that if someone has lost money in this climate they have probably done so because they abandoned some basic princples of investing. At the risk of sounding pedantic, these include: doing your homework, knowing your own risk tolerence, being aware of the suitablity of any given investment to your own situation.
CNBC should be PART of an investor's homework. It should NOT be ALL of an investor's homework. And it should not be an excuse for when you HAVEN'T done your homework.
Cheers. |
