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ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
The famed sounds of the New York City Stock Exchange's opening bell were put to use today in memoriam for a legend of the markets.
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AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The single ringing of the bell began and closed a moment of silence on the floor of the exchange this morning as a tribute to the passing of historian and markets commentator Arthur Cashin.
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SHAPIRO: Known as the dean of the New York Stock Exchange, he published his daily Wall Street newsletter, Cashin's Comments, for 40 years. He also managed floor operations for banks at the exchange for decades and, for the last 25 years, regularly reported for CNBC.
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ARTHUR CASHIN: I guess it was too much inside Wall Street. You know, I saw a lot of pundits come on, and it means this, and it means that. And it really didn't mean anything.
CHANG: In a world where finance reporting was seen as overly serious, Cashin was known for his wit and humor when analyzing the markets.
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MELISSA LEE: ...Cashin, UBS director of floor operations. He joins us now on the CNBC news line. Art, it's always great to get your perspective on things. What do you make of all that Fed speak yesterday and where the markets stand today?
CASHIN: Well, first, Melissa, I hope you're getting overtime. They've got you carrying the ball day and night these days.
SHAPIRO: The Washington Post called him the Wall Street version of Walter Cronkite. As colleagues reported his death on air, you could see Cashin's lasting impact on traders and financial reporters.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #1: I do want to bring our viewers some unfortunately very, very sad news. Art Cashin, a longtime floor trader and friend and, as all of you know, a frequent guest of CNBC has passed away at the age of 83.
CHANG: A native of Jersey City, Cashin was a fixture in the finance world for almost 60 years. He joined the New York Stock Exchange at just 23 years old.
SHAPIRO: He was less interested in computational outputs and datasets than he was in stories. And so as automation took on a greater role in market trading, Cashin would butt up against technological breakthroughs, using his instinct to analyze the finance world.
CHANG: Those who worked with Cashin remember him as the beating heart of the stock exchange floor, a historian who kept long-running traditions going. Here's Cashin leading his colleagues in an annual song welcoming the new year back in December 2023.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #2: Art Cashin joining us. Arthur, take it away.
(APPLAUSE)
CASHIN: OK, on the count of three - one, two, three.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing) Wait till the sun shines, Nellie...
SHAPIRO: Art Cashin, a titan of the stock market and vital to how we understand it, was 83 years old. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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