I find it slightly strange how media outlets speculate about the potential and future of certain companies and the economy, and present that conjecture as news. News, in an optimally cognizant and conspicuous world, should be objective. Opinion is not news; it is not completely factual. For example, if the Fed released a statement saying it will not raise interest rates, then news programs should convey what the Fed said, including any reasons the Fed has given for its decision. But when on the same news segment, analysts or experts are brought in to give their thoughts on what will happen, then it becomes speculation and opinion, not news. If analysts and experts are to give their opinion on a broadcast, then it should be in a separate segment and clearly labelled as only an opinion.
It is hard to measure the effects, if any, that arise when facts are mingled with and mangled by opinion. When people watch analysts and treat their judgement on how a certain company will perform as gospel, then that could actually affect the company. In this case, what has affected the company’s performance is not its actual condition and financial position, but speculation. Economic bubbles are the result of mass speculation and herd behavior, so media can often be the glaring accomplice, or even culprit.
The main point is that people should make their own judgements and assessments on the outlook of the economy or how a company will perform. In some sense, what Michael Gove said about Brexit, that “the people of this country have had enough of experts”, can be very carefully and partly applied here. No, of course we need people who know what they’re doing and have the public in their best interests. But when official-looking broadcasts and people dictate to you their opinion as truth, they can mislead you. This muddling of fact and opinion, or dressing up of opinion as fact is a recurrent idea that people already know and does not only apply to financial and economic news. Hence, if we could be a little more aware of how we perceive things, especially in “official” media and not passively absorb all we see as truths, then it could hopefully help us out in the long run, economically, socially, so on and so forth.