Readers may well think I have a cushy number, but it’s not always easy being a journalist. To be good requires a lot of decent contacts, a bit of knowledge, sometimes tenacity, a supportive framework and a lot of luck. It also requires a degree of cooperation from those you are writing about.
Take this week. As ever, there are loads of rumours flying around and I’m grateful to all of you who sent in the buzz. Many years ago, when the sadly departed Telerate started up, it gained a following in the market by reporting the rumours that were impacting prices. Reuters hit back by claiming a moral high ground, saying it saw its mission as reporting only the facts. It’s a fine line. When I was working as a market reporter, my view was that if a rumour was widespread and moving prices, it should be reported; my job was to check its validity.
One bit of tittle tattle that has been doing the rounds is a story that a certain Euromoney top-10 bank has effectively outsourced its spot business to a hedge fund. Now I have been predicting for some time that the day was fast approaching when some of the tier-2 and 3 banks would outsource their business to newcomers such as Saxo or Oanda, but for a top-10 bank to do it would astound me.