Wells Fargo Sanitizes Terminology

Wells Fargo (WFC) A sharp eyed reader brought this one to my attention. Apparently in a CNBC interview there was mention of Market Disruption Costs of $4.3 Billion by Wells Fargo executives. Or so it was reported by readers. Then when you look at the press release and conference call transcripts they have something called “other than temporary impairment” which total $473 million or eight cents @ share.

The financial markets are coming up with these sanitized terms that are designed to obscure true meanings. Losses are losses. Red ink is red ink. Fairy tale terms should not be recognized by FASB, nor should they be tolerated by investors.