“I’m cautiously optimistic,” says the TV pundit. Well who isn’t?–you want to say. The optimist without caution is a fool. “It’s a stockpicker’s market.” Can you name another kind? Here’s another beauty you’ve heard countless times that sounds logical: “Stocks are down on profit-taking.” A rash of selling high would seem to justify this statement, but it ignores the buyers. In fact, people don’t actually know whether stock sellers are “profit-taking.”
Business Insider chieftain Henry Blodget explains why these and about a dozen other commonly heard market-speak phrases are meaningless. Some of the phrases are just a way to sound smart and cover your ass if the market turns–they’re noncommittal masterpieces like “We’re constructive on the market.” But the always wise and energetic Blodget includes some gibberish that doesn’t even sound smart, like our personal favorite: “This market has more buyers than sellers.” Umm, no it doesn’t–as a kindergartner could tell you. There are always the same number of buyers and sellers. Always. Unless you’re buying the Brooklyn Bridge.
