Read this article from the New York Times and replace many of the nouns with “investor,” “stock,” and “investment industry.”

Long before social media, Wall Street and its predecessors had a wildly viral network of passing rumors around that may or may not have any basis in reality. Historical readings back a few hundred years show that little progress has been made to date.

“The analyst said…”

“I read somewhere in the Wall Street Journal…”

“Do you see that x smart guy bought y security?”

“I went to an idea dinner and they were really pushing xyz

“Did you see Barron’s this weekend?”

While it is possible to find real information to rely on, I never cease to be amazed when I push a little through the veneer and see how little work was done by the current announcer of said idea.

Reading primary material is slow and painstaking, and obviously that is why few actually do it. Legal and SEC mandates that have created 600-page 10k’s have not made our lives any easier. Internet access has made some things easier but it also raises idle chatter to a deafening level. And then there are those kittens.