INVESTING Coming to terms with buzzwords

Many people hear investment terms, then use them without really knowing what they mean.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Program trading, short selling, EBITDA.
EBIT-huh?
If investment buzzwords flying around business television programs, lunch counters and cocktail parties have you confused, you're not alone.
CNBC television anchors throw the terms around as if everyone knows what options, cash flow and market capitalization mean.
"But people on there don't take the precious airtime to explain," said Scott Horsburgh, chief investment officer with Seger-Elvekrog Inc. in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Next thing you know the general public is using the same language with only a limited understanding of the terms.
Larry Moss, a Raymond James & amp; Associates Inc. senior vice president and financial adviser in Birmingham, Mich., hears it, too.
"I was at a party over Labor Day, and people were talking about selling short and they didn't have a clue what they were talking about," said Moss. "I just sat back and smiled until someone asked me."