Are financial websites purposefully trying to confuse people?

[Gumby]

Occasionally I'll take a look at Marketwatch.com to see what people are saying about the markets. A few months ago, they had published an article on why Gold is a bad investment:

http://marketwatch.com/story/why-gold-i ... 2010-11-12

...And almost five months later, to the day, they publish an article on why people think Gold will likely hit $1,600 by the end of the year.

http://marketwatch.com/story/gold-may-r ... 2011-04-13

I feel sorry for the people who cling to websites like that for insight on which way the wind may blow.

[MediumTex]

It's all just entertainment.

It alternates between a sensationalist documentary, a screwball comedy and a campy horror film.

[Jan Van]

Well, maybe they figure one doesn't exclude the other? Just because you love your spouse doesn't mean she's a good wife...

[clacy]

I'm fully convinced that for every bullish case, an equally compelling bearish case could be made by someone else.  That stands for any asset class, at virtually any time.  Think about it.  If these "writers" knew when to invest and in which asset class, why would they be writing for a small salary (low six figures if they are lucky)?

[Pkg Man]

Great find Gumby.  I'm sure if we paid more attention we'd find dozens of such articles.

I figured out a long time ago that the evening news was entertainment, but it took me a while longer to realize that it wasn't limited to just TV.  I feel sorry for people who use "information" like this to make investment decisions.  They'd be just as well off flipping a coin.

[KevinW]

I'm fully convinced that for every bullish case, an equally compelling bearish case could be made by someone else.  That stands for any asset class, at virtually any time.

Yeah -- actually I think this is a corollary of the efficient market hypothesis.  The market settles on a price where the bearish sentiments are exactly counterbalanced by the bullish ones.