As use of the phrase "green shoots" infiltrates the financial world's lexicon and flourishes in the media, consumer and business confidence is having a growth spurt, says Nomura Holdings.
Sentiment improved after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke used the term in an interview on 60 Minutes screened in the UnitedStates on March 15.
The US central bank chief said he saw "green shoots" in some markets, and that the pace of economic decline "will begin to moderate".
The phrase has since proliferated in the press, financial research and daily conversation.
"The invisible hand does play an incredible role in capitalism," said Sean Darby, of Nomura International Hong Kong. "The herd instinct has quite a profound effect on the traditional correlation between stockmarkets, consumer confidence and private consumption."
Bernard Salt, a partner at KPMG International in Melbourne and author of books on social trends says its human nature to grasp "corporate pop words" in difficult times.
"When something as disastrous as the global financial crisis grips the world, then something equally catchy will pull us out.
"The phrase 'green shoots' gained social currency the minute we saw a chink of light at the end of the tunnel. Now we didn't, and still don't, know whether there's a train coming the other way, but we're happy to ascribe it to a recovery.
"It's part of the human psyche to look for simple explanations. Right now, it's green shoots to the rescue."
