I have to share this with you, it’s too priceless. So the NYSE puts out this notice that gambling isn’t allowed on the floor of the exchange. Here’s the snippet we ran on the wire, from Newswires’ Jacob Bunge:
12:48 (Dow Jones) NYSE Euronext (NYX) issues “reminder” notice to exchange members that gambling is prohibited on trading floor and “a criminal offense in New York.” Write your own punchline about the financial crisis or the markets in general, but NYSE’s regulation department warns further against using post computers for “games of chance” or calling your bookie from the floor. “If you have any questions about whether a particular activity is prohibited, you should consult with your firm’s compliance officer, senior manager, and/or legal counsel,” according to NYSE notice.
Gambling? On the floor of the New York Stock Exchange? Naaah…
I mean, that’s like that classic joke about the aristocrats, right? The set-up is provided, and you can fill whatever outrageous, hysterical take on it you like.
“The NYSE warned traders that gambling is not allowed on the floor of the stock exchange…then promptly threw everybody out and shut down forever.”
“The NYSE warned traders that gambling is not allowed on the floor of the stock exchange…after which traders began massively shorting the NYSE.”
Okay, so those aren’t exactly funny. But you get the point. The exchange has always had something of a casino feel about it, and that’s only gotten worse since the Maestro came to town and laid down the Greenspan Put.
So please, feel free to add your own punchline in the comments. Most creative gets a Market Talk t-shirt. (Okay, we don’t actually have Market Talk t-shirts, but if we did, we’d give the most creative poster one for sure.)
Addendum: Just to add a little weight to the point, here’s a comment to consider, from the Crosshairs Trader blog (h/t Reformed Broker):
Wall Street speculation is the most stupendous game known to the world of chance; as compared with it, the game of Monte Carlo pales into utter insignificance; in no other game are the stakes so high, is success so transitory, and failure so overwhelming.
Who said it? Franklin C. Keyes…in 1904. The title of the Crosshairs post? ”Same As It Ever Was.”
Phil Koop
Myron Budnick
Glen
theadr
January 27, 2011
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