Signal and Noise

When analyzing data and creating forecast models, analysts and researchers need to learn to distinguish between the noise and the signal. The noise consists of superficial and confusing factors that have little if any importance. The signal is strong data that is relevant to the subject at hand and should be focused upon in forecasting.

Collateralized Debt Obligation

A Collateralized Debt Obligation, or CDO, is a complex type of security. During the economic collapse, they were over-valued 200 times higher than predicted. The failure of the CDOs resulted in trillions of dollars of investments that were rated as safe whey they were actually very unsafe. These overvalued CDOs help lead the economy to near collapse.

The Housing Bubble

The housing bubble that helped lead to the economic downturn in 2007 was in part created by speculators who flipped houses for quick profit. The fact that mortgages were...