obsessive housing disorder n.— «As Washington grapples with the current mortgage crisis, advocates from both parties are already warning the feds not to relax their commitment to expanding homeownership—even if that means reviving the...
zombie company n.— «A new phrase, “zombie companies,” was coined to describe those companies kept alive by banks even though they were insolvent. Some were property companies the value of whose assets had fallen by more than 30 per...
sticky-wage theory n.— «The reason is something called the sticky-wage theory. Economists have long been puzzled by the fact that most businesses simply will not cut their workers’ pay, even in a downturn. Businesses routinely lay...
recessionista n.— «A recessionista is simply some one who seeks fashionable items that are also inexpensive.» —“Fall fashion 2008: The year of the recessionista” by Debra Braggs Press-Register (Alabama) Sept...
table-pounding buy n.— «Like Mr. Fosback, the firm’s analysts found that the stock market typically hit bottom six months after a recession began, and that at such times the stock market was a “table-pounding buy.”» —“An Alarm...
black swan event n.— «On Black Monday, October 19, 1987, the Dow Jones index, for reasons still being debated, fell 508 points, almost a quarter of its total. (The current equivalent, for comparison’s sake, would be a 3,200-point loss on...