Gobbledegook Or Just Plain Nonsense?

Friday, January 07, 2011
Say What?

From an actual Wall Street “research” report this morning—and, before you ask, no, this is not from “The Onion”:

We are upgrading 3M to Neutral as capitulation on the growth story and 2011 estimates should limit relative downside and make 3M once again somewhat of a defensive stock. While the negative dynamic of positive sentiment has turned modestly more favorable, stubbornly bullish consensus estimates for ’12, along with risks at Healthcare, keep us from moving to Overweight.

Anyone care to venture what this means?

Jeff Matthews
I Am Not Making This Up
[From Jeff Matthews Is Not Making This Up: Say What?]

Maybe as I get older, I am less tolerant of long convoluted explanations. Or maybe I am beginning to really understand the plain beauty of a KISS ("Keep It Simple Stupid") strategy. But after reading this one, I have to admit that I could not understand what the writer intended.

Globalisation: The redistribution of hope | The Economist

The redistribution of hope
Optimism is on the move—with important consequences for both the hopeful and the hopeless
Globalisation Dec 16th 2010 | from PRINT EDITION

“HOPE” is one of the most overused words in public life, up there with “change”. Yet it matters enormously. Politicians pay close attention to right-track/wrong-track indicators. Confidence determines whether consumers spend, and so whether companies invest. The “power of positive thinking”, as Norman Vincent Peale pointed out, is enormous.

For the past 400 years the West has enjoyed a comparative advantage over the rest of the world when it comes to optimism. Western intellectuals dreamed up the ideas of enlightenment and progress, and Western men of affairs harnessed technology to impose their will on the rest of the world. The Founding Fathers of the United States, who firmly believed that the country they created would be better than any that had come before, offered citizens not just life and liberty but also the pursuit of happiness.

Not that the West was free of appalling brutality. Indeed, the search for Utopia can bring out the worst as well as the best in mankind. But the notion that the human condition was susceptible to continual improvement sat more comfortably with Western scientific materialism than with, say, the caste system in India or serfdom in Russia.

Now hope is on the move. According to the Pew Research Centre, some 87% of Chinese, 50% of Brazilians and 45% of Indians think their country is going in the right direction, whereas 31% of Britons, 30% of Americans and 26% of the French do. Companies, meanwhile, are investing in “emerging markets” and sidelining the developed world. “Go east, young man” looks set to become the rallying cry of the 21st century.

[From Globalisation: The redistribution of hope | The Economist]

I grew up reading "The Economist". I remembered looking forward to the addition of each new edition of the magazine to the library of my school in Guyana. It was the source of unbiased world news, analysis and opinion. Back then, there were not many choices, but the thing that impressed me most, was the way they covered the stories that mattered. An unbiased, well written, thoughtful analysis of the events around the world. Since then, I have only grown fonder and more appreciative of this journalistic "tour de force". I don't always agree with their viewpoint, but have never felt they were pushing an agenda. All this to say, "The Economist" is among one of my most highly recommended readings. Click on the link above to see what I mean by a well written article. As an unabashed optimist, I just love the last paragraph. You will just have to check it out yourself!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Three words oft repeated during the holiday season. A greeting to friends, family, and even strangers, it is heard so frequently as to appear vacuous or inane. Yet, upon reflection, there is so much more going on here psychologically. At least it appears that way to me.

The new year seems like a wonderfully refreshing reset. A time to take score, to reflect in the past, and to consider the future. The optimism it engenders always invigorates to further success, be it world peace, more regular additions to a blog, weight reduction, a new job if one has been unemployed, better investment returns, or myriads of other personal wishes. Amazingly, it does not seem to matter, the kind of year just ended. It could have been a lousy or an outstanding year, yet the season wishes and impressions are so powerfully motivating that it's easy to feel that the following year can be even better.

I know that the reality bug slips in quietly and quickly after the season has run it's course, bringing with it a dampening effect, trying to deflate our optimism. And I know that many resolutions frequently end up forgotten. Nevertheless, the potential for goodness is so great, and the opportunity for success so awesome, that it is worth going through this uplifting process. After all, success is better achieved through optimistic action than pessimistic inaction.

So, to all I say, Happy New Year! May you do something that makes this year your best yet!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad