esmith: You are correct. You must be an engineer.
And apparently Roubini, Mish, and other economists using these terms have hijacked them and are using them incorrectly.
The old term, vicious cycle, has been replaced by the more grandiose conversation-stopper, NEGATIVE FEEDBACK LOOP. But you are right–it means a self-dampening process, neither good nor bad, positive nor negative.
Kewp, I’ve had the opposite experience, seeing a 90% empty restaurant at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, and a Home Depot with many idle clerks and empty registers. Shows we can’t trust anecdotal evidence (including mine).
