Wall Street analysts and economists speak their own language.
Words like "research" and "analysis" mean one thing to regular folks, but something totally different to the folks with a financial interest in how they are perceived.
To address this, Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Zweig is out with a new book, "The Devil's Financial Dictionary," which features satirical, yet insightful definitions that decode the meaning of everyday financial jargon.
Just in time for the holidays, this compendium of Zweig's wit is the perfect stocking stuffer for anyone remotely interested in finance.
We picked 13 terms from 200+ page text and shared them below.
Enjoy.
Forecasting (n.)
The attempt to predict the unknowable by measuring the irrelevant; a task that, in one way or another, employs most people on Wall Street.
Source:The Devil's Financial Dictionary
Regulator (n.)
A bureaucrat who attempts to stop rampaging elephants by bradishing feather-dusters at them. Also, a future employee of a bank, hedge fund, brokerage, investment-management firm, or financial lobbying organization.
Source:The Devil's Financial Dictionary
Irrational (adj.)
A word you use to describe any investor other than yourself.
Source: The Devil's Financial Dictionary
See the rest of the story at Business Insider