No. 8. "How much is that in yen?": The last refuge of wayward commodity traders, this currency dodge operates to make a bad trade look better. It works like this: You bought gold at $1,600, but it fell to $1,200. Rather than acknowledge a mistake, cite a different currency to make the trade look like a winner.
No. 9. "The future obligations of Social Security and Medicaid will bankrupt the country": This represents the mistake of only looking at one half of a balance sheet -- the liability side. Extrapolating the increased costs of these (or other government) programs while ignoring the increases in the revenue side is misleading, or worse -- an argument advanced by those who want to undo the social safety net.
No. 10. "Homebuyers caused the financial crisis": The cause(s) of the financial crisis still remain misunderstood by much of the public. (The short, rather unsatisfying answer: it's complicated). However, there are some people who intentionally make false statements about the crisis, mainly for ideological reasons.
I will stop at 10, but the list could run to the hundreds. What it is about finance that invites these terrible, vapid pronouncements? Do these trivialities reflect a lack of intellectual rigor, or are they merely a refuge for those who don't want to get pinned down?
What financial clichés annoy you?
This column was provided by Bloomberg News.