Message to Cramer: Investing is not entertainment
Today's Financial News - Posted March 12, 2009
Thanks to the recession and its high-ratings potential, Wall Street has become a source of entertainment, not wealth. Thanks to loud-mouth pundits like Jim Cramer, this trend won’t change anytime soon.
By Andrew Snyder, TodaysFinancialNews.com
Baltimore – (TFN): What has happened to Wall Street? What was once the center of global wealth, prestige and the fuel tank for the American dream has turned into a crime magnet, a competitor to Las Vegas and a source of public entertainment.
For those of us that still believe in investing in the companies that run the nation and mapping our own course to financial success, there is a lot of “garbage” to rummage through these days.
For a perfect example, just turn on your TV. Following the preaching of Rahm Emanuel – “Never let a serious crisis go to waste” – the nation’s media is taking full advantage of the nation’s financial crisis. The direr they make the situation, the higher their ratings.
Of course, Wall Street’s favorite entertainer is not missing any opportunities to get his bald mug on American TV screens. Jim Cramer has been locked in a heated battle all week with comedian-turned-political-pundit Jon Stewart, whose favorite way to fix a failed punch line is to toss in a four-letter jaw dropper.
Their over-the-top antics, while entertaining, do little to shine a positive light on what is should be one of the most sanctified entities in the country, if not the world.
But instead of giving the investing institution the gravity it deserves, Cramer is forced to create entertainment by screaming at cameras, throwing chairs and making zany sound effects.
His addiction to the camera is doing investors absolutely no good.
Investing is nothing but numbers and formulas. It is not supposed to be zany and entertaining. Treat Wall Street like Hollywood or Vegas and you will get burned.
Comedians and Criminals
While Cramer powders his forehead for his appearance with Jon Stewart, Bernie Madoff is packing his overnight bag and heading to court. When he pleaded guilty to charges that could lock him away for the rest of his life, his scandalous career officially came to an end.
The life-destroying criminal deserves far more punishment than he will ever get.
Not only did he destroy the financial lives of countless investors, he permanently marred the industry that has helped so many investors find the life they dreamed of. No amount of jail time will ever rebuild the chunks Madoff knocked out of the nation’s financial foundation.
Even with all of the entertaining glitz and greedy scoundrels, Wall Street remains a powerful source of wealth and financial pride. A handful of headline-makers cannot destroy what millions of Americans have tirelessly worked to build.
The industry may have a giant black eye at the moment, but that is exactly what it needed to knock the scum out of the industry. The risk-takers, the crooks and the cheats have all been shaken out (I hope). They could not handle the inevitable equalizer that is the free market.
Unfortunately, the downturn has permanently scarred many everyday investors, who are truly the heart of the nation’s financial success. But even the worst of scars cannot keep us from growing and retaking the power that has been stolen from us.
Over the next few months, as politicians fight for your vote, TV pundits argue over your eyes and criminals are pulled from the woodwork, just remember what investing is all about, buying low and selling high.
Stick with the fundamentals and the strongest of trading tactics and you will get through this mess. It may be bleak now, but your portfolio will rebound and the country will grow once again, no matter how much they tax us.
This is nothing the country has not seen numerous times before. The only thing different is we are watching it all unfold live and in High Def.
Next Article: Mark-to-market changes: Just a little more time
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May 12th, 2009 at 10:19 am
Cramer is a freakin’ idiot, a blowhard!