Post by jeffolie on Dec 3, 2007 14:31:10 GMT -6
"1984" Ministry of Truth at work in 2007
Ministry of Truth to Rectify Key Economic Data
Monday, December 3rd, 2007 at 4:05 AM
Winston worked in the RECORDS DEPARTMENT (a single branch of the Ministry of Truth) editing and writing for The Times. He dictated into a machine called a Speakwrite. Winston would receive articles or news-items which for one reason or another it was thought necessary to alter, or, in Newspeak, rectify. If, for example, the Ministry of Plenty forecast a surplus, and in reality the result was grossly less, Winston’s job was to change previous versions so the old version would agree with the new one. -George Orwell, 1984
The Ministry of Truth (MoT) is set to “revise/alter” important data on personal income from jobs and wages. The amounts involved lend further evidence that these reports are for all practical purposes nearly worthless. Yet the markets continues to trade on them as if they were the Gospel. This particular rectification is especially glaring, consider:
The new report concluded that personal income from wages and salaries grew at an annual rate of 1.6 percent in the second quarter, far below the 4.5 percent that had previously been estimated. The government did not explain why the revision was made, and it is possible that some of it came from reducing estimates of wages or of the profits that employees received from exercising stock options. But it was most likely, said Robert J. Barbera, the chief economist of ITG, that the largest part of the revision came from a change in employment estimates. If so, he said, he expected the government would revise its estimate of the number of jobs created in the quarter, to as little as 50,000 a month from 126,000 a month. That would indicate that the economy was much weaker than had been thought. The Commerce Department had estimated that the overall economy grew at a 3.8 percent rate in the spring quarter, surging to a 4.9 percent pace this summer. But those figures are still subject to revision.
I have long been preaching to anyone who would listen that these bogus MoT numbers were to be ignored and dismissed. Of course the biggest lie of all has been the Speakwrite machine propensity to be stuck on a 0.2% monthly core inflation reports.
wallstreetexaminer.com/blogs/winter/?p=1235#more-1235
Ministry of Truth to Rectify Key Economic Data
Monday, December 3rd, 2007 at 4:05 AM
Winston worked in the RECORDS DEPARTMENT (a single branch of the Ministry of Truth) editing and writing for The Times. He dictated into a machine called a Speakwrite. Winston would receive articles or news-items which for one reason or another it was thought necessary to alter, or, in Newspeak, rectify. If, for example, the Ministry of Plenty forecast a surplus, and in reality the result was grossly less, Winston’s job was to change previous versions so the old version would agree with the new one. -George Orwell, 1984
The Ministry of Truth (MoT) is set to “revise/alter” important data on personal income from jobs and wages. The amounts involved lend further evidence that these reports are for all practical purposes nearly worthless. Yet the markets continues to trade on them as if they were the Gospel. This particular rectification is especially glaring, consider:
The new report concluded that personal income from wages and salaries grew at an annual rate of 1.6 percent in the second quarter, far below the 4.5 percent that had previously been estimated. The government did not explain why the revision was made, and it is possible that some of it came from reducing estimates of wages or of the profits that employees received from exercising stock options. But it was most likely, said Robert J. Barbera, the chief economist of ITG, that the largest part of the revision came from a change in employment estimates. If so, he said, he expected the government would revise its estimate of the number of jobs created in the quarter, to as little as 50,000 a month from 126,000 a month. That would indicate that the economy was much weaker than had been thought. The Commerce Department had estimated that the overall economy grew at a 3.8 percent rate in the spring quarter, surging to a 4.9 percent pace this summer. But those figures are still subject to revision.
I have long been preaching to anyone who would listen that these bogus MoT numbers were to be ignored and dismissed. Of course the biggest lie of all has been the Speakwrite machine propensity to be stuck on a 0.2% monthly core inflation reports.
wallstreetexaminer.com/blogs/winter/?p=1235#more-1235