I Just Saw Something at the NYSE.....

It is 3:56 and trading will end in four minutes and I see (on CNBC) two NYSE specialists being interviewed. When I started on the NYSE floor over 30 years ago, they would have been far too busy at 3:56 to be interviewed on TV. Now, with the order flow being primarily executed electronically, they do not seem to have much else to do. This may seem trivial, but it is actually a clear sign of how little influence the specialists now have and how much electronic trading has changed Wall Street.

The market had a really good day today as Professor N. Roubini (nicknamed "Dr. Doom") commented publicly that the "worst is over" for the economy. If a perma-bear like Roubini is losing his bearishness is that not a good sign for the market?

Also, the government has decided not to bail out CIT (the correct decision in my humble opinion), and the market held up fine. Maybe we do not need the government being so heavily involved after all!