The stock market fell over 5% this past week, and the financial media reported half of the story.  The headline article in Friday’s Wall St. Journal provides a classic example.  Here is a sample quote: “Volume on stock exchanges has spiked in recent days, a sign that more investors are piling into selling.”  The thrust of the article is that “everyone” is selling, “no one” is buying, and that is what is driving the market down.  Most readers do not question statements like this.  They should, because such statements are misleading at best and flat out wrong at worst. Read the rest of this entry »