Saturday, October 31, 2009

"GDP Slide"

While watching the Soloman Show on the CBC, I also noticed how they ran a segment with the heading "GDP Slide" when discussing a story that GDP dipped 0.1% in August despite being up substantially above expectation in the 3rd quarter (hint, August is the middle month of Q3). Up considerably in the 3rd quarter, down a tiny dip in August, and the headline they run for several minutes is "GDP slide"?? Am I the only one who thinks that this is absolutely crazy? Is Evan selecting these topics and headlines himself, or is the producer who hired him writing "GDP slide" onto the television?

It befuddles me how good news can hit the market, and immediately investors start selling? As though many investors saw the good news on GDP and decided that they should sell high. Others see the movement and then sell out of fear. The last downturn lowered the sum total of the market's risk tolerance. Some people are having flashbacks to the large fast declines of a year ago, while others are buying into the ominous warnings of the doomsayers. Whatever happened to optimism? Does increased Q3 GDP not deserve a headline on the Soloman Show? Instead they have to pass the tiny bit of bad news on the screen as though this were some mighty unnatural disaster?

Oh that's right, the stimulus is now allegedly the only reason that GDP is up in the 3rd quarter. If that is true, isn't that why we agreed to do it in the first place? Why would that be bad news? If the economy rebounded before the stimulus money hit the market, does that perhaps suggest that it might not have been necessary? Either way, We had a strong 3rd quarter and we should be happy and confident.

I don't get it.

3 comments:

  1. Everything, and I mean everything is geared towards making the Conservatives look bad on the CBC.The CBC will try to link any issue to the Conservatives to see what will stick in a negative way with the Canadian voting public.

    Kursk

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  2. Just another reason why is IT a mistake to fund the CBC model competiting against public companies.

    Let the CBC survive by adopting the PBS model and cut back on the American content.

    I am confident the left will be eager to save their favourite communications vehicle.

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  3. You don't get it? Neither do I...
    But I've never understood certain aspects of what makes employees of the CBC like Evan for example, say the things they do.
    Shouldn't the CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION be required to say good things about the way the country is run once in a while?!

    ReplyDelete