Edwin LeFevre, in his timeless 1923 classic Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (the reputed story of Jesse Livermore, and perhaps the greatest book on trading of all time), spoke facetiously to why we so consistently question herein the motives of the tipsters and prognosticators the financial media trots out to steal your attention (if not your money):
If I said to the average man “sell yourself five thousand steel” he would do it on the spot. But if I tell him that I am quite bearish on the entire market, and give him my reasons in detail, he finds trouble in listening. And after I am done talking he will glare at me for wasting his time expressing my views on general conditions, instead of giving him a direct and specific tip — like a real philanthropist of the type that is so abundant on Wall Street, the sort who loves to put millions in the pockets of friends, acquaintances and utter strangers alike.