Brokers Fight Club

A day at the office for a trader can be a roller coaster ride of highs and lows. You just called the Dow for +100 points, then threw it all away on Oil. Yahoo and Microsoft pair trade not going your way? Or have you spent the day whipping the Hang Seng?

Whatever your day has been like it is always great to let off steam at the local watering hole, or if you are more fitness oriented, down at the local gym. But beware! Taking your office enthusiasm to the gym might be harmful for your health.

Monday saw the acquittal of stockbroker, Chris Carter, who was charged with confronting a noisey gym customer during a spinning class in an Upper East Side fitness club last summer.

Apparently our stock broking buddy was two bikes away from Stuart Sugarman in the Equinox sports club. By all accounts, Mr Sugarman, a senior partner at an investment firm, was grunting, groaning and shouting, issuing exclamations like "You go girl".

Now shouting such exclamations in our office would have the 'fool of the week' award locked up for many a month, but doing so in a gym with a stressed stockbroker got slightly more reaction.

Mr Carter dismounted his bike grabbed Mr Sugarman's handlebars, raised the front end off the ground driving the rear of the bike into a wall and then let the bike go.

Mr Sugarman spent two weeks in hospital saying the injuries sustained have caused him chronic neck and back pain. The jury seemed to understand the frustration and pronounced Mr Carter 'not gulity'.

This incident occurred on August 15th 2007 when we were just seeing some problems in the markets.... with all the volatility we are seeing now maybe the local City gym is not the place to verbally vent your market frustrations... just a thought...