I don't believe you

Sometimes, I simply cannot believe my ears. I guess we all have this feeling from time to time, but it never fails to amaze me when I hear people talking nonsense about economics — particularly those who should know better.

When I say "talking nonsense", I don't mean people expressing opinions that are different from mine. We can all disagree about the causes of the recent recession, the wisdom of government policies to increase demand, the correct EU policy towards Greece and its debts, etc.

These are all subjects for legitimate debate and, as we all know, when there are 10 people discussing economics, there will be 11 opinions at least — more, probably, if economists are taking part in the discussion.

No, when I say "talking nonsense", I really mean talking nonsense — saying something that is simply factually wrong.

This happened recently when I was listening to the Bavarian radio station B5 Aktuell on my way home from work. This is an excellent news station and a good alternative when I have had enough of Radio Gong's constant diet of Pink! and Bon Jovi.

In fact, B5 Aktuell is so good that I wouldn't have expected them to say the following twice in one news bulletin (I'm translating into English): "The US economy grew by 5.7 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009."

The news story was that the US economy grew at its fastest pace for six years in the last three months of 2009. But it didn't grow by 5.7 per cent.

Instead, it grew, as the The Wall Street Journal correctly reported, "at a 5.7 per cent yearly rate over the previous quarter".

The key word here is "yearly", a simpler alternative to "annualized". In other words, this refers to a rate which, if it continued for a year, would lead to growth of 5.7 per cent.

This may seem pedantic, but it makes a big difference. Growth of 5.7 per cent in one quarter would lead to annual growth of more than 20 per cent, which is clearly not the speed at which the US economy is growing.

So, shame on you, B5 Aktuell! You really should know better. All you had to do was insert one little word. But you were too sloppy to do so.

OK, time for me to see which Pink! song is playing on Radio Gong. Those who think I'm being overly-pedantic might expect it to be "So What?". On the other hand, it could be my message to B5 Aktuell: "I Don't Believe You".