ticktock n.— «As to whether he backed Mr. Geithner’s decision to introduce the bank bailout plan before arriving at specifics, Mr. Summers, well schooled in Washington’s ways, invoked newspaper slang for behind-the-scenes...
permabear n.— «Then there was the espouser of doom himself: Roubini was known to be a perpetual pessimist, what economists call a “permabear.” When the economist Anirvan Banerji delivered his response to Roubini’s talk, he noted that...
futarchy n.— «Robin D. Hanson, an economist at George Mason University, proposes a “futarchy,” a form of government enhanced by prediction markets. Voters would decide broad goals of national welfare, but betting in speculative markets...
fat tail n.— «Finance is about numbers, and some numerical analysis will always be needed to see trends and plan investment strategies. But there are limits to numerical jugglery, and this is the underlying message of the current round of...
New York rain
n.— «“New York rain” is the local term for water that drips, annoyingly, from air-conditioners onto passers-by.» —“Hard rain” in Hong Kong Economist Aug. 3, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
lagniappe semester n.— «Tulane will be running a second spring term starting in mid-May (dubbed, in local parlance, a “Lagniappe Semester”) to keep students on track for graduation.» —“An Economist Visits New...