A related abuse is that recessions tend to be described by businessmen and politicians as cyclical downturns, while economic booms are never cyclical expansions. This is convenient: bad times are the fault of impersonal economic forces; good times the result of far-sighted human decisions.
At its least flamboyant, financial jargon is a stock of glib phrases that provide ready-made explanations for any given turn of events. For example, suppose that new figures show that growth is faster than expected. If share prices rise, analysts will point to “hopes of stronger profits”. If share prices fall, they blame “fears of higher interest rates”. Economists, they say, try to tell you where you are going by looking in the rear-view mirror. Financial scribblers simply reach for the cliché in the glove compartment.
- Bubble babble, The Economist, December 3, 1998.
About the author:
Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.
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