Opening Cross: Merry Fiscal Cliffness!

(To the tune of ‘The Holly and the Ivy’)

The folly and the envy
That the market always rises,
Of olden days has been swept away,
By this long financial crisis.

The economy’s a shambles,
The euro’s in a mess
Should we regulate? Oops—too late!
Now our pensions’re all worth less.

The politicians bicker
Over taxing “haves” and “have-nots.”
But you can light a spliff (Dude, what Fiscal Cliff?),
Now they’re legalizing pot.

Would you trust a politician
Whose cash is in tax havens?
Do you roll the dice on a vendor’s price,
Or the advice of market mavens?

Now we put our trust in data
And put our faith in cash.
Check what Buffett wrote in his latest note,
To avoid another crash.

So get as many prices
As your terminal permits.
If you need more speed, get a direct feed
Using microwaves to transmit.

But with budgets under pressure,
And every dollar rationed,
Major sources of fees, like low latency,
May start going out of fashion.

Instead, return to research,
Or use analytics as your focus.
Find a ratio and away you go.
It’s investment hocus pocus!

Do Excel add-ins excite you?
Fundamentals light your fire?
You can access more from vendors’ app stores
Of third-party niche suppliers.

With Bloomberg Next and Eikon
Terminals are back in vogue
For the human trader, not the Terminator
No more algos going rogue.

Big Data’s primed for take-off,
It’s volume and velocity.
It’s the next big thing—capture everything!
If you have capacity.

The markets weathered Sandy,
Though exchanges closed their floors.
Datacenter rooms ran on diesel fumes
As Sandy razed the Jersey Shore.
Many still lack power
Or were left homeless by the sea.
You can bring some cheer if you volunteer
Or donate to charity.

IMD will take a break now
But we’ll return, don’t fear.
So as we go away, Happy Holidays
And a prosperous New Year!

From Vicki, Faye, and myself
And the whole Incisive team,
Wishing you much rest, and
the very best
For two thousand and thirteen.

Many families in the New York and New Jersey area affected by Hurricane Sandy remain homeless or without basic amenities this holiday season. Please help by donating generously to redcross.org, foodbanknyc.org or toysofhope.org.

The next issue of Inside Marke Data will be published on Jan. 7, 2013. On behalf of the IMD team, happy holidays and best wishes for a prosperous new year.