ART CASHIN: The Traders I Talk To Aren't Worried About Syria

CBS via YouTubeIt's been a pretty quiet week in the financial markets. Many folks in finance began their Labor Day holiday on Monday.

But UBS's Art Cashin is still hard at work with the other floor traders at the New York Stock Exchange.

And the escalating conflict in Syria has been leading the conversation.

Here's what the sentiment is according to Cashin:

Syria Speculation – The James Bond chapter of floor brokers took advantage of the slow tape to talk about the topic of the day – intervention in Syria.

As to the speculation that an attack could be the tripwire to a sudden regional or, even, a semi-global war, there were more than a few skeptics. Israel has invaded Syrian airspace three or four times this year, hitting specific targets. None of these brought expanded conflict or even counterattack from Syria, Hezbollah or Iran.

There was lots of discussion about what chemical was in the chemical attacks. Saddam's gassing of the Kurds had a 90% fatality rate. The fatality rate in Syria seemed much lower.

How will the G20 meeting next Thursday and Friday impact timing and strategy? Would we launch an attack with the President out of the country? How comfortable would the President be in a nose to nose with Putin on the Russian's home turf? Curiouser and curiouser.

Stocks are down modestly in the first hour of trading today.