What is Financial PORNography?

[660ky612]

What is "financial pornography"?

Would you please suggest a reading list OR give some examples?

How can I communicate this concept to other people who have long been taught that
"Listening to financial pornography = Doing homework for investing"?

660ky612

PS. I only know pornography, for example +nude +celebrities See http://www.diehards.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5402 .... Needless to say, I have always felt that I do not have time to do the homework. Obviously, not every individual investor can afford the time and energy to better understand the loser's game.

[Taylor Larimore]

Financial Porn
"A slang term used to describe sensationalist reports of financial news and products causing irrational buying that can be detrimental to investors' financial health. Short-term focus by the media on a financial topic can create excitement that does little to help investors make smart, long-term financial decisions, and in many cases clouds investors' decision-making ability.

Notes:
Expanded media coverage, specifically the advent of 24-hour cable news networks and the internet and the tools it has provided the financial industry, has led to a large increase in financial porn.

Examples of financial porn include constant advertisements of easy-to-use trading-strategy products that purport to turn minimal investments into small fortunes, media coverage of the latest and greatest sector trends and magazines with front pages that claim to have the next 10-must-own mutual funds of next year. Many of these products and ideas expose investors to great risks posed by both the movement of the market and the risk of fraud.

The term was first coined by Emmy-winning Jane Bryant Quinn who is an American personal-finance."

Source: Google

Best wishes.
Taylor

[Rick]

What is "financial pornography"?

Would you please suggest a reading list OR give some examples?

How can I communicate this concept to other people who have long been taught that
"Listening to financial pornography = Doing homework for investing"?

660ky612

PS. I only know pornography, for example +nude +celebrities See http://www.diehards.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5402 .... Needless to say, I have always felt that I do not have time to do the homework.

Try watching Cramer--thats a good example.

Rick

[pitt76]

Suze Orman

[pitt76]

To paraphrase a famous quote from Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart: I don't know how to define financial pornography but I know it when I see it.

[Adrian Nenu]

Any investment newsletter.

Adrian
anenu@tampabay.rr.com

[DaleMaley]

All 3 major personal finance magazines (Money, Kiplingers, Your Money) all have some financial pornography content ........in that they all usually have "The Next 10 Stocks You Must Buy Now" on the front cover to attract buyers of the magazine on the magazine racks.
:lol:

I had never heard of this term.......until Taylor brought it up a long time ago. Each time I briefly watch CNBC.......for entertainment value only.......I am reminded of the term financial pornography......with the drum rolls, music cresendos.....and fast talking hosts.....who try to build up excitement about the meaningless daily gyrations of the stock market.

[amador]

CNBC is financial porn for the upscale crowd. For the working classes, I'd say Robert Kiyosaki is the king.

[mlebuf]

The difference between real porn and financial porn is that real pornographers deliver what they promise.

Best wishes,
Michael

[SpringMan]

Michael,
Good one. :lol:
Best Wishes,

[660ky612]

Apart from learning Putonghua, one reason for posting this thread
http://www.diehards.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5825 "Hong Kong stock Market - RADIO Finance in Putonghua"

was calling the attention for a study of Investor Education or Financial Pornography here in Hong Kong.

660ky612 from Hong Kong

[CrossOverGuy]

In defense of "Money" magazine, they do provide Jason Zweig's column, one of the very best financial writers out there (and a Diehard at heart and apparently in deed). Also, "Money" has some very good tips on tax deductions, consumer issues, finding bargains, etc. However, I do tend to ignore Michael Sivy's column and anything that lists stock picks or mutual fund picks. The Money 70 funds aren't too bad - actually some of them are quite good. However, what must be avoided (or discounted at all costs) is the listing of funds at the back of the magazine which list the top performing funds over the last year (and then only again for 3 years); those are the funds I generally think are gonna tank in another year or so - since I generally never have heard of most of them before - and come another year, they most likely will return to their obscurity. Unfortunately, advertising drives the magazines like this and CNBC -- I don't really find anything worthwhile on that network frankly. But if you know what to read (Zweig, consumer info, how various investments work ---without focusing on any specific recommendations) and what to avoid (Sivy, predictions and recommendations of stocks and funds, and most of the financial advertising), there is some good stuff in "Money" amidst the financial porn.