Thursday, February 26, 2009

Words of the Day...

Torschlusspanik vs. Torschusspanik

The first is the type of panic you do before a door is about to close -- you get the puck out! The 2nd is the type of panic you do when you've been passed the ball right in front of the goal and are expected to score!

Torschlusspanik, of course, is one of the explanations for what happens in a bubble... Yeah, some people know there is a bubble, but they can't resist those big returns, so they try to stay in until things start to turn south. And then when things start to turn, and the market begins to head south -- Bam! Torschlusspanik! Everyone tries to get out before the door closes...

Among the crazy things conservatives are now arguing, interestingly, is that
there is no such thing as bubbles.
That, since humans are rational, bull-markets (not bubbles, for there are none) are always warranted by their fundamentals. Even the "Tulip Mania", some conservatives argue, was completely rational responses to the fundamentals of supply and demand. Of course, this is all utter crap, but nevertheless, I'm always amazed at how many otherwise-intelligent, democratic-leaning economists get taken in by this shit... And is anyone else just getting sick of reading conservative economists write anything? It seems like they've just totally gone off the deep end...

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