I believe that economists put decimal points in their forecasts to show they have a sense of humor.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Whenever I see a forecast written out to two decimal places, I cannot help but wonder if there is a misunderstanding of the limitations of the data, and an illusion of precision.
The good news is that economists are intelligent, engaging and often charming folks. The bad news is their work is often of little use to investors.
Economists often like startling theorems, results which seem to run counter to conventional wisdom.
Economists have allowed themselves to walk into a trap where we say we can forecast, but no serious economist thinks we can.
The track record of economists in predicting events is monstrously bad. It is beyond simplification; it is like medieval medicine.
Today's business and health care climate may not be pleasant. Cutbacks, pay cuts and layoffs do not make anyone's job easy. But that does not mean that the humor need stop.
No serious futurist deals in prediction. These are left for television oracles and newspaper astrologers.
Economists think about what people ought to do. Psychologists watch what they actually do.
To say that a humorist exaggerates to get big laughs, I don't see how that's big news.
I'm not an economist and we all know economists were created to make weather forecasters look good.