During the 1980s, I would fax a daily investment note to trading desks across the City. One Tuesday my focus was on British Aerospace. Solid order book. Government backing. The sort of thing that made middle-aged fund managers feel virile. I wrote, with suitable gravitas: "We believe the company is undergoing a structural shift..." Unfortunately, the fax machine had been chewing paper all week and slight crease erased a single letter. "We believe the company is undergoing a structural shit…" was beamed to every trading desk in London. The phone began ringing. "Richard," said one broker, barely breathing. "Is that an official downgrade?" Another claimed it was "the most candid research note in the City". By close of day, British Aerospace had dropped two percent.