Opinion

Don't be fooled by financial jargon

Posted December 05, 2008 10:00 pm

While listening yet again to a lecture from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke on what's wrong with the market and the steps the Fed is taking to spur credit markets Mr. Bernanke repeatedly used the term "basis points." And several times when using the basis point term he went onto translate it into the percentages he was alluding to. When did 2.5 percent become 250 basis points and when can we have simple, understandable percentages back? It won't solve the financial crisis but it just might send a message to the retail investor (you and me) that the titans of finance aren't the geniuses they thought they were and can dispense with the financial jargon they invented to make them sound like they knew what they were talking about.

Steve Sarich

Grayslake

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