Beyond popping up as talking heads on cable news, Wall Street analysts and economists serve an important purpose helping to guide the financial decisions of a wide array of investors — from average Americans worried about retirement to large institutions deciding where to put billions of dollars. At its best, Wall Street’s coterie of experts is supposed to translate the shifting sands of the economy into a cogent, useful investment view. I’ve been a sell-side economist for over 15 years, helping clients and the public understand the shape of the economy and what it means for the markets. I’ve always tried to be clear and allow the data to shape my thoughts , rather than fit it into my preconceived notions. But over the past few years, and especially since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, I’ve noticed that more and more analysts are relying on low-quality, prepackaged narratives to drum up fear about the direction of the economy and stock market. Admittedly, stocks haven’t done well over the last year , but instead of providing clients and the general public with clear-eyed views, a new ecosystem of hackneyed, alarmist analysts is relying on low-quality data to push people […]
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