“It’s not a stock market. It’s a market of stocks.”

My friend and I used to have an inside joke about phrases that could be used at any time to make yourself sound intelligent without really saying anything. I recall two examples: “just look at the Japanese” and “that reminds me of an article in The Economist.” Try it at your next dinner party and you’ll see what I mean.

In that vein, Henry Blodget has a wonderful post at TBI listing 16 of Wall Street’s favorite meaningless phrases:

“The easy money has been made.”

“I’m cautiously optimistic.”

“It’s a stockpicker’s market.”

“It’s not a stock market. It’s a market of stocks.”

“We’re constructive on the market.”

“Profit taking”

“Bargain hunting”

“More buyers than sellers”

“There’s lots of cash on the sidelines.”

“We’re in a bottoming process.”

“Overbought”

“Oversold”

“Buy on weakness”

“Sell on strength”

“Take a wait-and-see approach”

“It’s a show-me stock.”

What I love about these phrases is that they can be used anytime for almost any reason. Yet the phrases ultimately convey no information whatsoever. But they somehow sound as if something intelligent is being said.

I suppose the human brain is wired to follow authoritative phrases before thinking. It reminds me of this article I once read in The Economist….

Posted by on June 16th, 2011 at 1:02 pm


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