2006-07: Pundits scoffing at predictions of economic meltdown

[kevyn]

This is video quite amusing to watch:

Peter Shiff is apparently someone to pay attention to on economic matters, because he got it right. He appears to be a real analyst, not a cheerleader, unlike so many of the talking heads on TV.

Ben Stein comes off looking particularly bad in hindsight, especially when he goes all bullish on Merrill Lynch. And Charles Payne's prediction that WaMu will be the stock to have in 2008 is a real laugh.

( Ganked from BoingBoing )

Comments

[snousle.livejournal.com]

Where was Peter Shiff in 2002, or 1990, when the bears were the ones being made fools of? Was he an optimist back then, or was he spouting the same line? I bet that his long-term performance is no better than any of the others. None of these people can predict what is going to happen, and there will always be a few that are right in retrospect; that is no indication of special wisdom. Many of the specific predictions Shiff made were wrong as well, so many that I lost count.

It has been known for a very long time that "analyst" recommendations offer no advantage over the dart-board approach, so it's not exactly a surprise when they're wrong. It's just that when everyone is making money on paper, nobody cares.

It is unfortunate that TV has become a vehicle for corporate interests. But who in their right mind pays attention to it? This video is making a fuss over what is little more than noise. Shiff included. It's just another effort to extract marketable drama from one of the dryest and least palatable subjects in the world.

[kevynjacobs.livejournal.com]

Well this is Faux News, after all. Fox is all about extracting marketable drama from dry subjects.