Do CNBC/Bloomberg & other financial media help or hinder?

I thonk they are for entertainment only, I have never understood why these channels are always on in trading rooms in the city. The sound is usually switched off anyway, & only switched on for sport or big news events, not trading related.

Lol where do you think my username comes from

go read Zerohedge.com

I've found CNBC to be a useful tool, but you have to use it correctly. It's very easy to get caught up in what people say on TV and lose money. You simply have to learn how to rise above such things.

Part of it is just realizing what's reliable. You aren't missing out on much when Mr Permabear comes on. You should never invest in dogma. However, when Ben or the president of Goldman Sachs Asset Management is on you might want to pay attention.

That's not to say that you should take any of the stock recommendations seriously. Analysts are just as fallible as the rest of us. You should look past what they say and try to determine why they are saying it. You're going to lose money if you buy every stock that Jim Cramer mentions, but listening to his analysis can teach you a lot about how to formulate an effective strategy of your own.

It's also good to help you understand what the market is thinking in general. I totally understand what you're saying about the Fast Money guys, but they are only reflecting what institutional investors are thinking at the time. This is simply the nature of the market. Use such psychology to get a leg up on the hordes.

I miss Erin

They are good to hear news, economic releases results and other fundamentals without the need to watch news feeds on the computer screen.

But no use in committing concrete trading decisions for me.