It is never a good idea to read too much into a day’s changes in the stock market, or a week’s. Besides, I am sure that in a day or two we’ll have Vox explaining to us that stocks are down because Planned Parenthood funding is threatened or because Congress is giving Obama’s Iran deal the hairy eyeball. (Or: climate change!)

But it is always fun to read the coverage on days like this, because there’s always something dumb that’s good for a laugh. Here’s Erin McClam from NBC:

There was some good news in the sell-off: The price of crude oil plunged below $40 a barrel for the first time since the financial crisis in 2009. Gas has already fallen to a nationwide average of $2.63 a gallon — 80 cents lower than a year ago.

That’s some ace economic commentary, right there. Low crude oil prices are good for some people, and they’re bad for some people. You’re probably happy to see oil go down if you live in Los Angeles, but probably not if you live in Houston. Commodities are like that: High wheat prices are great for wheat farmers, less great for bread-eaters. Some prices, though, are magic: Lower oil prices are always treated as desirable (until they aren’t) and rising home prices are always treated as a sign of economic health (until it becomes undeniable that there is a bubble).

Political reporters are expected not to pick a side, to remain neutral between candidates. I think economy reporters should maintain neutrality between buyers and sellers.

Related thought: Have you ever noticed that when there’s an unusual increase in gasoline prices, we get politicians talking about price-fixing, demands for congressional investigations, etc.? This is based on the idea that gasoline prices are set by collusion rather than by supply and demand. But if that’s the case, then it should also be evidence of nefarious price-fixing when prices go down. Strangely, nobody ever makes that argument.

There is some obvious evidence of price-fixing in gasoline markets, of course: Crossing the border from Nevada into California a few days ago, I noticed that gasoline prices jumped a dollar on the west side of the line. I look forward to Governor Brown’s time in the stocks.