tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335748440449035592.post2971905441610226631..comments2007-09-06T09:36:58.009-04:00TraderMarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06241756200482130281noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335748440449035592.post-20594709602032191782007-09-06T09:36:00.000-04:002007-09-06T09:36:00.000-04:00Jimidean, by working in corporate America and seeing how much work (i.e. little) is done on compiling truly accurate data to give to the gov't - when you add all these little pieces of inaccurate data together, what do you think the big picture reveals? Generally in most corporate offices, giving data to the gov't by filling out these darn surveys is drudgery work ... given to someone low on the totem pole. So that goes to all gov't reports. <BR/><BR/>As for CPI, I realize energy/food are volatile in nature but you can do 3 month or 6 month moving averages to smooth out the month to month volatility .... so by heralding this index WITHOUT 2 of the most important components is silly. Aside from housing and auto food and energy would generally be the 3rd and 4th largest expenditures in a person's budget. Hence tossing around inflation figures without them, to claim it's benign (or not benign) is foolish. That said, when I think about tuition costs, medical costs, energy, food, et al - I don't know where this 2% figure is coming from even for the core. There is a reason most Americans feel insecure - there buying power is falling - which means prices are going up more than wages - most people have made zero progress since 2000 on buying power. How is that possible with 1.5-2.5% inflation and 3-4% wage growth? It's not.TraderMarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06241756200482130281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335748440449035592.post-22034936646612033062007-09-05T19:59:00.000-04:002007-09-05T19:59:00.000-04:00The CPI stats are a joke. In light of SARBOX it is insane the government can put numbers out like that. Makes me want to buy gold and silver.jimideanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07565061657887275998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335748440449035592.post-8817681180297952492007-09-05T17:56:00.000-04:002007-09-05T17:56:00.000-04:00The Fed's comments today:<BR/><BR/>"Outside of real estate, reports that the turmoil in financial markets had affected economic activity during the survey period were limited."msbnoreply@blogger.com