Turning up the volume

Another example of the media's nonsense was underscored this morning when John Thain was on a call with Prudential forecaster, Robert Rutschow. Mr. Thain denied the ridiculous rumors that have been perpetuated in the pop media. The usual suspects: Wall Street Journal and CNBC helped perpetuate this nonsense. Meanwhile, while all of this talk about systems issues ensues, there's been a real surge in volume -- and that's good for bidness (maybe not so good for selling papers though).

All of the banter about the cliff dive helping to shake up complacency in the market is interesting to think about. Looking at the VIX and wearing out the term "volatility" is in vogue, and again, if these occasional dips (which have occured in equity markets since they first existed back in 1602) generate increased interest in the equity markets, that's a good thing for NYX in the long run.

Greater demand for market data, increased share volume, and tremendous source of liquidity, are all beneficial byproducts that have been overlooked by the media and the Street's bearish NYX-covering prognosticators.

Getting back. Here's the Dow Jones piece from today about Thain's conversation with Pru.

"NYSE Group's Thain Denies Rumor Of SEC Probe Into Volume

In a conference call with Prudential Equity Group, NYSE Group Inc. (NYX) Chief Executive John Thain denied the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the New York Stock Exchange, analyst Robert Rutschow said in a note to clients late Thursday.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday the SEC is eying the shrinking of the NYSE's floor and whether it affected the Big Board's ability to handle a surge in trading volume such as occurred on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by the newspaper. Shares of the NYSE Group rose 2.5% to $83.78 in recent action."
Source: Dow Jones, Steve Gelsi 3/2/07