I have problems with weather forecasters; I think their language has affected the reporting we see from Wall Street. When I was a youngster and watched the evening news, the weather forecasters told you what the temperature was going to be: whether it was going to be hot, or whether it was going to be cold. You knew by the temperature what to anticipate the next day in order to dress and get ready for school. Things changed during the 1970s. Back in 1945, the formula for "wind chill" was created, but it wasn't until 1973 that it was put into use. Prior to that, it was all about the "propensity to get frostbite due to the wind." In 1973, the forecasters decided this could make the temperature seem worse than it really was, but if you take a pot of water and it's 33 degrees and the wind chill is (-) 3 degrees, that water is not going to feeze. It's the same temperature, but we believe it is much worse. Prior to 1973, the temperature was just the temperature outside.
Then, in 1979, the weather forecasters invented the “heat index”. When I was a kid, it was either cold or it was hot. Now we have a way of saying it feels hotter than the actual temperature. That came into regular use during the 1980s.
When it comes to the stock market, I think people are being taken advantage of when they're watching the financial news on CNBC or elsewhere. (Sometimes, I will ask if you are a CNBC fan or a CNBC victim). I found www.describing words.com off of Google. I put in “stock market” into the search bar, and it gave me adverbs and adjectives to be able to use in describing the stock market. If we were being factual, we would say that the stock market increased by a certain number of points or decreased by a certain number of points, but no one is going to tune in to that. So instead, here’s the list that is given:
- Stomach churning
- seismic
- inflated
- downturn
- volatile
- illogical
- bloated
- dreadful
- active
- successful
- bad
- horrible
- bloody
- huge
See what I mean? I think that weather forecasters became reporters for the financial news networks.
So, when you’re looking at what’s going on in the world, just look at the numbers. Realize the difference between the starting number and the ending number. Yes, there are times that there are large decreases, but if you have a decrease of 200 or 500 points in a given day, it’s just a readjustment of the temperature. A change in the forecast in our financial weather room. Stop being a victim and realize the financial news networks are using things to keep your interest that often make you agitated or excited. If you are agitated, overly stimulated, or excited because of the financial news, perhaps it’s time for a conversation with our firm.
