What Is & Isn't Scary

My paisan, Neil Cavuto sees a problem with what some of the news reports about the economy. This time arround he points out some facts that most of the newscasts don't want you to hear. Why? If you knew this their scare tactics wouldn't work.

'Happy' Halloween

This Halloween day, allow me to be the one not to scare you. The financial anchor not to doom-and-gloom you.
You see, sometimes some in the media like to trick you and make you think things are awful.
For these crape-hanging few, every day is Halloween.
So they trick you into thinking the economy is in a recession.
Someday it will be. But the treat right now is it's not — not by a long shot.
We just got word that the economy grew darn close to 4 percent in the latest quarter — the first time we've seen that kind of back-to-back strength in more than three years.
Others trick you into thinking there's a mortgage meltdown. Trust me, we've got some mortgages in trouble, but the vast majority are not.
In fact, let me treat you to this far-from scary stat: 96 percent of all mortgages are being paid on time, month in and month out. It's true.
Here's what isn't: Tricking you into thinking Merrill Lynch is the start of some spooky spiral.

It might well be. But it ain't now.
Because right now, with most earnings out, most earnings are up.
I suppose like a broken clock, the end-of-the-world crowd will get something right. And something will go wrong. Because the trick to avoiding treats in the media is never reporting the treats in the first place.
That's not scary, my friends, that's just sad.
Happy Halloween. And I mean that, happy Halloween.