Stupid Things Finance People Say
21st November 2013
Morgan Housel is delightfully dyspeptic today.
Highlights:
“Earnings missed estimates.”
No. Earnings don’t miss estimates; estimates miss earnings. No one ever says “the weather missed estimates.” They blame the weatherman for getting it wrong. Finance is the only industry where people blame their poor forecasting skills on reality.
…
“He predicted the market crash in 2008.”
He also predicted a crash in 2006, 2004, 2003, 2001, 1998, 1997, 1995, 1992, 1989, 1984, 1971…
…
“The [thing not going perfectly] crisis.”
Boy who cried wolf, meet analyst who called crisis.
Journalists just love to trot that one out.