In finance, you would compare 2020-q2 with 2019-q2. You would still get a similar 8% - 9% drop. That figure (32.9%) is based on future projections. Stating the

In finance, you would compare 2020-q2 with 2019-q2. You would still get a similar 8% - 9% drop. That figure (32.9%) is based on future projections. Stating the predicted future as something that took place already would get someone fired in finance. >> This is more like the general populace not understanding how finance works It looks to me more closely as someone applying mathematical formulas either without understanding what you are doing de-facto behind them, or being ill intended in the first place to manipulate the market. Either way, it's bad. Unless you're explicitly writing "in Q2, the GDP dropped at an annualized rate of -33%", you're committing the capital offense when it comes to writing good journalism: not knowing your average audience, not adapting your content to the audience and probably most significantly, not understanding as a journalist what you're writing about.