There is an old complaint about the news business that big stories later found to be flawed or plain incorrect make the front page, but retractions wind up buried on the obit or church page.
A similar thing happens with government numbers, especially those economists and central bankers harp on and on about and use to make decisions that affect innocent people. At the moment these folks along with the MSM financial press are fixated on the job number, a figure that supposedly came in a thundering 0.1% better, improving from 5.1% to 5.0%.
If change is the only constant in life, say hello to revision of government economic data.That booming October job number nearly everyone seems to be falling over most likely faces revision. Maybe even more than one. Was the October number just an outlier, an aberrant figure like many we've seen and come to question with government data in the past?
But it's a safe bet traction-wise the revised number or numbers will cut little bait. This is one of the main reasons such data--particularly that which the Fed follows or invents--and the economy in general are lagging indicators while the stock market is a leading one.
There's another reason, too. Most market players have their own skin in the game. When was the last time you could say that about politicians or government bureaucrats?
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