The Cutting Room: From Huggable Bull to Saber-Toothed Bear

It felt cold Friday evening as we prepared to tape the show. And dark. No surprise, really. The market has gone from huggable bull to saber-toothed bear. Saying it's ugly isn't saying enough.

Still, though we could feel the pain emanating from our every pore, we also reveled a bit in the moment. Being in the midst of such tumult gives a journalist an odd feeling, a kind of perverse excitement. And after a day of slogging it out on the Web site, we were capping it all off with a half-hour show that would give us a chance to put all of the surreal events in order.

This week's taping was also a kind of celebration. Sure, tough to celebrate during times like these, but we had all the columnists in town for our third annual contributors' dinner. That meant we could get Jim Seymour, our resident tech ace, onto the set. And he was awesome. He had us all cracking up when he started chanting in Herb Greenberg's general direction about the latter's obsession with a 36% drop in the Nasdaq. You see, despite all the pain, we're still just shy of this apparent mystical level. You'll have to watch Herb explain this vital 36% issue. I still don't get it.

Among the others who joined us were writers like arb David Brail and futures pro Howard Simons. It was great to get all the commentators together. It also meant that Gary B. Smith and Adam Lashinsky were in the house, rather than operating via remote. Those two remain my faves on the show. Gary B. Smith, especially, has a real talent for humor, wit and irreverence. He's a treat not only for us, but also for the many of you who read his excellent commentary on the site.

The mood of the show reflected what's been happening in the market. We were all a little more subdued than usual, with Brenda Buttner having to push and prod to get our thoughts. Strangely, I thought this worked better. Brenda driving the show prevented us from dropping into the usual scrums during which it can be hard to figure out what anyone is saying. We're lucky to have someone of her skill directing the traffic.

If you're looking for contrarian feelings, the group seemed pretty bearish. But the desire, the very eager desire, to locate a bottom very close to where we are right now, might give some pause to those seeking the kind of panic that would signal a true bottom. Emotion has control of the market right now, and until ultimate fear surfaces, it's hard to see the bottom. And that kind of ultimate fear seemed to simmer just below the surface, not on top as a good contrarian would have hoped.

Ask Cramer, the segment in which James Cramer takes calls from viewers, had a remarkable consistency about it. Most asked about solid companies that had been stung by the recent downturn. This surprised most of us, who expected to hear queries about ailing dot-coms of questionable vintage. But it may signal something interesting: Those who have tried to get rich on questionable companies may now be in so much pain that they have no desire to call in to have that reinforced.

Predictions, which reflected that not-quite-ultimate fear, had an interesting twist. James J. Cramer wouldn't tell us his prediction ahead of time, which is the standard operating procedure. We soon found out why. He predicted that TheStreet.com (TSCM) stock had found its own bottom. I don't like Cramer or anyone else discussing our stock on the show or on the site. You have to take his view on this with your own heavy grain of salt. Jim Seymour even remarked during a break in taping that the prediction was shameless.

Cramer, of course, is the largest shareholder and has obvious vested interests. Heck, we all have vested interests in our stock, which is exactly why it makes little sense for us to discuss it. You may disagree with me and, if so, I welcome your comments. What I will say is the following: We are a great financial news and information operation, and we endeavor to provide you with all you require so that you can decipher what is happening in the marketplace. Nothing showed this more clearly than our work on Friday.

We peppered the site with insights throughout the meltdown, providing a combination of quality, speed and insight that simply isn't found anywhere else. We will never flinch from our mission to provide you with the very best in financial news and information, and we have plenty of resources to enable us to continue providing that excellent insight, regardless of share price. I'll leave our stock to the market. I don't think it requires comments from me or anyone else on the staff.

So, it was an intense show reflective of an intense week, providing good information and certainly flowing from the week that was. What will Monday bring? That's the great mystery. It could be painful, and it's hard to see where we step out of the muck. But there's a lot of money out there waiting for the right moment. And it may come sooner than even I anticipate.

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