When I heard the TH make that ludicrous statement of "fact", I said to myself, "This market is going south!"

The incident reminds me of my days as a trainee at Dominion Securities, which is now RBC Dominion. I wasn't yet licensed, but was sitting in on the trading desk for someone who had left the room and I was taking his calls. One of the calls was from a client who was complaining vociferously that his prior day's limit order had not been filled, but the newspaper had quoted a lower trading price on the day.

So I called the trading floor at the Toronto Stock Exchange (back in the days they had one) and I spoke to our trader who could give me an answer. The answer I got was one I'll never forget: "So tell your client to trade with the newspaper. Do you believe everything you read in the newspaper?"

That was a split second before he slammed down the phone.

Live and learn.

A little clip here. A little clip there. Soon you have a haircut.

That's how many financial service intermediaries make a living from the capital markets.

And now you know why I had a difficult time trying to fit in. Financial services, I discovered, is not always a matter of adding value; it's often a matter of taking it, wherever and whenever you can get it.

That lesson taught me early in my career to devote as much time as possible to research, corporate finance and developing electronic trading platforms and decision support technology. You see; a lot of client service in these firms is actually "disservice" under a different name.

On a very positive note, my meeting this morning may lead to something. These Mumbai-based chartered accountants are very knowledgeable financial analysts. They do the financial audits of some of India's biggest banks and public companies. They also have a large team of MBA CA/CPA's who understand what SEC-filed financial summaries actually mean.

Working with me, I can have this army quickly pouring over important data in order to provide me, at a 30 percent normal cost, the no-spin analysis I know that the buy-side fund managers would pay dearly for.

No Spin. How about that?

BCara@BillCara.com