Art Cashin came to work at the New York Stock Exchange in 1959. That's correct, he has worked there for 52 years and is now the chief floor trader for giant UBS. Self-made and even self-educated, he has become one of Wall Street thought leaders, especially on market behavior.
As no hint of scandal has ever tarnished his reputation, he is a folk hero to me, and it was an honor to shake his hand last week in New York.
He was asked what he would do if he was given a $1 million bonus right now, whether he would put into stocks, bonds, or what . . . until next March. I was a little surprised but quite pleased when he said he would hold the whole thing in cash. (I was pleased because I have been holding relatively large positions in cash and short term bonds.)
His logic was that his worry about the European debt crisis, which was not surprising, and the "Arab Spring," which was surprising. The question was posed to him on Thursday, when anxiety over Europe was the highest, before they signed the tepid agreement for the first steps in resolving the crisis. I wonder how his thinking may have changed, since the agreement was signed but suspect he might be willing to increase his stock exposure only a small amount now.
I was more surprised that he was so worried about a collapse of the Mid-East as we know it; taking away our desperately needed energy supplies. Certainly, a religious takeover of Egypt would be bad, and failure to remove the Syrian despot would be bad . . . but the world would go on. I suspect his fear is that Iran will explode. If somebody I respect is that worried, I will have to re-think my exposure to the energy sector and probably increase it.
Thank you, Art!
As no hint of scandal has ever tarnished his reputation, he is a folk hero to me, and it was an honor to shake his hand last week in New York.
He was asked what he would do if he was given a $1 million bonus right now, whether he would put into stocks, bonds, or what . . . until next March. I was a little surprised but quite pleased when he said he would hold the whole thing in cash. (I was pleased because I have been holding relatively large positions in cash and short term bonds.)
His logic was that his worry about the European debt crisis, which was not surprising, and the "Arab Spring," which was surprising. The question was posed to him on Thursday, when anxiety over Europe was the highest, before they signed the tepid agreement for the first steps in resolving the crisis. I wonder how his thinking may have changed, since the agreement was signed but suspect he might be willing to increase his stock exposure only a small amount now.
I was more surprised that he was so worried about a collapse of the Mid-East as we know it; taking away our desperately needed energy supplies. Certainly, a religious takeover of Egypt would be bad, and failure to remove the Syrian despot would be bad . . . but the world would go on. I suspect his fear is that Iran will explode. If somebody I respect is that worried, I will have to re-think my exposure to the energy sector and probably increase it.
Thank you, Art!
