More stories from the end of an era

The floor of the NYSE is one of my favorite places, and it's a great backdrop for TV stock market reporters. But we all know it has been rendered an anachronism. I have perhaps hit this theme a bit too much as of late. With all the specialists layoffs, you should brace yourself for another round of color-laden character pieces like the one from the AP today. All about family ties and those quaint traditions: "They change into colorful mesh-backed jackets, some adorned with buttons of their firm or favorite sports teams, and set to work when the opening bell rings at 9:30 a.m. Orders are filled, trades executed as floor brokers push through stock transactions that now total about 3 billion a day." It's basically a human interest story now--and it is compelling. The specialists deserve credit for lasting as long as they did.

Read the story:
- in this article from the AP