Tulip bulbs, anyone?
When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?


http://www.cnbc.com/id/101122296


"We're beginning to see a case of old tech/new tech—and the key topic this earnings season is how deeply you are involved in cloud technology and/or can you make money on the mobile side," he said.

After all, Facebook rose sharply after its July earnings report showed strong mobile monetization. But with a price-earnings ratio of nearly 200 on Thursday as the stock hit a new all-time high, there is no comparing its valuation to a company like IBM, which has a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.

For Cashin, the de-emphasis of typical modes of valuation gives him a bad case of déjà vu.

"For an old fogy like me," the trend of extrapolating future earnings based on users and viewers "gets the warning flags flying," Cashin said.