&gt; <i>It seems to be almost an unconscious corporate reflex to treat the bulk of your staff like morons.</i><p>My understand is that there are laws about the disclosure of market-moving information make a lot of C-suites paranoid.<p>The thing is that refusing to answer, or being vague, is itself an answer. The incentives are to lie. If you equivocate, the effect is frequently more destructive because of the amount of rumour and innuendo that builds up.<p>This is why changes of policy in business and politics are often sudden and contrary to previous promises.