CNBC would seem to serve as the megaphone for the carnival barkers -- that is, the institutional analysts. One view might be that CNBC, at its worse, can be an infomercial channel for those pushing summer merchandise. One can't help wondering whether it's being used, despite the producers' best efforts to present an objective view. The jaded view would be that the so-called analysts and experts are pitchmen. I think CNBC probably strives for an objective view, but who are they going to talk to? It'd be like sending correspondents to hell and interviewing Cerberus, Ciaccio, Phlegyas, Filippo Argenti, Medusa, the Usurers, etc.
S'all a bit of a joke.
The other problem is market myopia. On down days, the view is dreary and pessimistic. The market will head lower forever, of course. On up days, the outlook is exuberant. And the analysis of the economy, etc., changes 180 degrees from day to day, to explain the market's meaningless meanderings and fluctuations.
I watch the channel religiously, of course. I plan meals around the commercials. I think of the on-air personalities and analysts as family. I put a cup of coffee on the table each morning for AJC, in hopes that she'll stop by and visit, if they take her out of Madame Tussaud's refrigerated Market Mavens Room once again for an upbeat assessment of the market. |
