![Whenever the market tumbles, as it did this week, you can bet on one thing: news outlets start buying stock photos of anxious (probably male, middle-aged) traders to post with their stories. We investigated what these folks are actually concerned about.](https://images.ctfassets.net/v44fuld738we/1kN6Hwg5S82p3ioBU3qEGE/5b0a809fca1a5b2b67c9d8d62abe8eec/SadTraders_1900x1900_Magazine_Square_Small_Resize.png?w=1600&h=1600&q=80&fm=png&bg=transparent)
Money & the World
The True Thoughts of the “Worried Stock Market Guys”
Whenever the market tumbles, as it did this week, you can bet on one thing: news outlets start buying stock photos of anxious (probably male, middle-aged) traders to post with their stories. We investigated what these folks are actually concerned about.
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We’ve all seen them: news photos of traders looking really, really worried while standing around Bloomberg Terminals. Whenever stocks slide, harried media people use these images as visual shorthands for “oh no, we’re worried about the market!” (We’d advise against worrying, for what it’s worth.) But what are these iconic fretters actually thinking and talking about on the trading floor? It’s not always what you think. In the spirit of enterprise journalism (not really) we found the truth (umm…?) about their candid conversations.
![SadTraders 1200x675 Magazine Inline 01](http://images.ctfassets.net/v44fuld738we/6NP76JEZihTj41T6qUJRkm/d0d433f92b35863aaea1d431b9d30fb7/SadTraders_1200x675_Magazine_Inline_01.png)
If something doesn’t happen in Succession soon, I’m out, I swear. The show’s lost narrative momentum. The writers love the characters too much; that’s the problem.
![SadTraders 1200x675 Magazine Inline 02](http://images.ctfassets.net/v44fuld738we/2tEZc43lZ77SZtvfHDeFnF/39970037c0e92b93d1f3dc644cf939ff/SadTraders_1200x675_Magazine_Inline_02.png)
Check out this ladybug on my finger! Seriously, check it out. What a little gift!
![SadTraders 1200x675 Magazine Inline 11](http://images.ctfassets.net/v44fuld738we/6KJ2cD8EolfRW7tuGbPw0e/aca3aec829ebd59da32e2f48dbb17924/SadTraders_1200x675_Magazine_Inline_11__1_.png)
OK, OK, write this down: after the bridge, it goes: “Oooh, baby, baby, baby. Don’t go, mmmm.”
![SadTraders 1200x675 Magazine Inline 03](http://images.ctfassets.net/v44fuld738we/6vdNRHjsYef6uPmeuQMoFR/4e5837e17e990a23e9bdd8c2350a526c/SadTraders_1200x675_Magazine_Inline_03.png)
Whoaaaa. Ice Breakers are so minty it’s almost too much.
![SadTraders 1200x675 Magazine Inline 05](http://images.ctfassets.net/v44fuld738we/1M47NZ0AeiXBdBfk0dF6XO/52551d0d4be1daf286d42f4d8448f834/SadTraders_1200x675_Magazine_Inline_05.png)
OK, listen: it’s a light dusting of confectioners sugar — a light one. And don’t forget to garnish with a toasted almond. Pulls the presentation together.
![SadTraders 1200x675 Magazine Inline 10](http://images.ctfassets.net/v44fuld738we/DxQMicIpvsh7424lVjY3a/1bbae03a279dabf8f96f0b75a102cdb8/SadTraders_1200x675_Magazine_Inline_10.png)
Why does my hand smell like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups?
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![SadTraders 1200x675 Magazine Inline 08](http://images.ctfassets.net/v44fuld738we/4dNhRTR9IiXZF28Htt4DUw/07ac159f9e47d7123b1ecb62304776f3/SadTraders_1200x675_Magazine_Inline_08.png)
4…3…2…1… ready or not here I come!
![SadTraders 1200x675 Magazine Inline 04](http://images.ctfassets.net/v44fuld738we/5hSXEFITAvpsMxXF6c4My8/ae00e65821b41f1cfb4c5ddd71cd0824/SadTraders_1200x675_Magazine_Inline_04.png)
Oh my god… Yahtzee!
HEADACHES, A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
![SadTraders 1200x675 Magazine Inline 06](http://images.ctfassets.net/v44fuld738we/FXc3iYb0tsw2si1RRqxZs/deec1c873d33abe27bd71b378efb6940/SadTraders_1200x675_Magazine_Inline_06.png)
It’s the blue light. It gives me such a headache.
![SadTraders 1200x675 Magazine Inline 07](http://images.ctfassets.net/v44fuld738we/4reY0jc3OfsLbUxVhkMLlT/7e94e2c5aad9308fd94db45b7d225a77/SadTraders_1200x675_Magazine_Inline_07.png)
Yeah, well, I have to sort all these little papers. So tiny! It’s giving me a way worse headache. It decimated me.
![SadTraders 1200x675 Magazine Inline 09](http://images.ctfassets.net/v44fuld738we/5XXN9T0J7Jwt01Wbtf2dyB/faa7ab92125e6618f27fe3c4d7545316/SadTraders_1200x675_Magazine_Inline_09.png)
Decimate isn’t a synonym for devastate. Decimate means to reduce by 10 percent. No one uses that word right. Anyway, I’m going to bail for lunch. That’s how bad my headache is. Later, homies!
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