“I have been in the market close to 20 years, and I have seen this kind of thing maybe five times,” he responded to questions about the market’s choppiness.
Do what? I immediately thought, sending out an e-mail to my muckers. “There’s a strange quote from ABN Amro's Patrick Bartle in the Dow Jones story below. Did Patrick really say that? If so, where did he work 20-years ago, Thomas Cook?” I asked.
“I think I must be losing it. For some reason, I seem to remember that the market moved more in the afternoon, especially after a ‘lunch’ of bangers & mash washed down with some pink poo and especially after a Pimms Royale (aka rocket fuel) frenzy, than it does most months now.
“I can only conclude the following possibilities, because I remember a couple of ERM devaluations, big interventions and the odd accord since 1987.
• I was rubbish
• I worked for rubbish institutions
• My brokers were rubbish
• My memory is shot.”
I got many responses telling me my conclusions were wrong. And as the chart below of the monthly range of cable over the past 20-years shows, the market unquestionably used to move a lot more than it does now.