“Margin calls and mutual fund redemptions along with hedge fund redemptions and deleveraging [?] means there is forced selling going on to accompany the selling that is simply a result of fear and capitulation,” he said.Let’s look at that last sentence again. It’s tough to discount the future when you just don’t know exactly how the current situation will unfold. That’s because the future is the unfolding of the current situation! I.e. he has said: “It’s tough to predict the future because I don’t know how things are going to go in the future.” Well, yes. We all face that problem. A great example of Begging the Question. To be fair to Wilson, I assume this is a direct quote of him speaking. You shouldn't be too critical of what people say off the top of their heads.
“At the same time, there is uncertainty of how deep the recession could be. It’s tough to discount the future when you just don’t know exactly how the current situation will unfold.”
Of course, I could be misunderstanding his use of the words “discount” and “future”? Perhaps he is referring to specific technical terms used in high finance? E.g. “discount”, as in selling shares cheaper (reducing the face value) and “future”, as in the futures market? But if so, then what he is saying makes no sense to me either. Although that’s not too surprising given my one effort in studying economics (financial markets) at university was a titanic struggle for me, due to both the time (6 to 8 pm) and the content of the lectures. I found relativity and elementary particle physics far more comprehensible (though not quantum physics – I still lose sleep over that crazy arsedness…).
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Source: Daily Telegraph, Bleak News Sends Wall Street South Oct 17 2008.
