The five phrases that marked modern finance

Alan Greenspanthe influential economist who led the Federal Reserve for almost two decades died at the age of 100held the position of president from the Fed from 1987 to 2006 under four presidents: Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton e George W. Bush.

Greenspan and cryptic language

He became famous not only for the decisions of monetary policybut also for its often cryptic language (“Fedspeak“) which consisted of deflecting questions with eloquent technical jargon, so much so that it generated stories and cartoons about his way of evading even the simplest answers.

“Irrational Exuberance”

Like the now legendary phrase about “Irrational exuberance“, pronounced on 5 December 1996 regarding the bubble of dot-com and interpreted as a warning about the overvaluation of stock markets: “How can we know when theirrational exuberance unexpectedly inflated the prices of goods?”.

“If I’m too clear you misunderstood”

The line that probably best represents his reputation as an enigmatic communicator and his desire to be often ambiguous and prudent was uttered on 27 April 2001 during a speech at Bond Market Association from White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia: “If I look like you excessively clearit means you probably have misunderstood what I said.”

“Amateurs and Professionals”

One of his most cited observations by investors is instead “Amateurs want to be right. Professionals want to earn”, while in debates oneconomic education the phrase is often quoted: “The number one problem of today’s generation and economy is the lack of financial literacy.”

The prediction on speculative bubbles

Long before ball the InternetThen, Greenspan wrote, “When stock prices can no longer be rationally justified, the subsequent collapse can be disastrous,” anticipating the problems of stocks by decades. bolle speculative modern.

“Antitrust as a wonderland…”

Finally, on the subject of competitionone of the best-known quotes in the liberal world is “The world ofantitrust remember the Wonderland of Alice…”, in which he bluntly criticizes the contradictions of antitrust policies andpublic intervention in the economy.