Valuation-Informed Indexing #610: Should It Be Called “Dishonest Exuberance”?

I’ve posted Entry #610 to my weekly Valuation-Informed Indexing column at the Value Walk site. It’s called Should It Be Called “Dishonest Exuberance”?

Juicy Excerpt: It’s a harsher term. To tell investors that they are guilty of irrational exuberance is akin to telling them that they are guilty of falling head-over-heels in love. Perhaps it is not entirely a sensible thing to do. But the phrase suggests behavior that is at least to some degree charming. That’s not so with “dishonest exuberance.” That sounds ugly, nasty. Dishonesty hurts people. To call what is going on when stock prices rise to the levels where they reside today “dishonest exuberance” is to make a moral judgment. It is to tell investors that they are doing something bad. It shouldn’t be too surprising that they react negatively to such an accusation.