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April 24, 2008
Department of “Huh?”

Are AP and Bloomberg writing about the same numbers?

U.S. Durables Orders, Excluding Transportation, Rise

April 24 (Bloomberg) — Orders for U.S. durable goods excluding transportation equipment rose more than forecast last month, indicating demand from overseas may be helping factories weather the housing-led economic slowdown.

Bookings for durable goods, designed to last several years,
rose 1.5 percent excluding transportation equipment, the Commerce
Department said today in Washington.

Durable goods orders fall for third straight month

AP News – Apr 24, 2008 08:03 EST – Orders to factories for big-ticket manufactured goods fell for a third straight month in March, the longest string of declines since the 2001 recession.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that demand for durable goods dropped by 0.3 percent last month, a worse-than-expected performance that underscored the problems manufacturers are facing from a severe economic slowdown.

I can’t find the original Commerce Department press release, but it seems Bloomberg is wearing some rosy, republican glasses here.

"Excluding transportation" – In its piece Bloomberg doesn’t tell its readers that orders for autos slumped 4.6 percent. Instead they emphasize an increase in aircraft sales making one think that transportation orders actually rose.

A problem with both pieces is that they don’t provide year-over-year numbers and don’t say whether the month-to-month numbers are seasonally adjusted. The numbers as given are essentially meaningless without that information.

Can anyone find me the real statistics?

Posted by b on April 24, 2008 at 14:50 UTC | Permalink
Comments

There goes the bubble …
New home sales plunge to lowest level in 16 1/2 years

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that sales of new homes dropped by 8.5 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 526,000 units, the slowest sales pace since October 1991.
The median price of a home sold in March dropped by 13.3 percent compared with March 2007, the biggest year-over-year price decline since a 14.6 percent plunge in July 1970.
The dismal news on new home sales followed earlier reports showing sales of existing homes fell by 2 percent in March.

Posted by: b | Apr 24 2008 15:23 utc | 1

Not there yet, but:
http://www.commerce.gov/NewsRoom/PressReleases_FactSheets/index.htm

Posted by: Gridlock | Apr 24 2008 16:03 utc | 2

Well, exports will certainly be up with the Dollar at an all-time low, which would be fine and dandy if didn’t meatn that we have to spend that much more on importing oil.

Posted by: ralphieboy | Apr 24 2008 16:52 utc | 3

I’ve noticed Bloomberg’s happy-clappy bias, and my guess was that it resulted from a conjunction of two things: (1) Bloomberg being extremely loaded, which will drive him toward a bond-heavy personal portfolio (with or without alternative investments); and (2) his half-hearted right wing political ambitions, which require a patriotic USA! USA! investment pattern favoring dollar assets. This might account for their strong-dollar and domestic-equity cheerleading. A useful counterpoint is Evans-Pritchard of the British fascist cuntrag Telegraph, which is pleasant to read in the sunny front room of the Sloan Club after a morning of anal-receptive buggery with your Cambridge roommate.

Posted by: …—… | Apr 24 2008 19:23 utc | 4

B,
Get over your paranoid, outdated prejudice about sunglasses! They don’t necessarily hide anything. Perhaps it was sunny out and he forgot to take them off for the picture.
You ain’t all that!

Posted by: WR | Apr 24 2008 23:57 utc | 5

Looks like someone needs a coffee to go barkeep…
Or an AA white chip, either that or perhaps they are just always troglidite at other peoples houses never been invited.
I’m looking at you dear, WR.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Apr 25 2008 3:19 utc | 6

b.- There aren’t any meaningful statistics, because ‘orders’ never have to ship, or they can be ‘channel stuffed’ and never paid for. I would ignore anything the US Govt says about GDP, inflation, or unamployment. Watch bottom line company profits and balance sheets.

Posted by: Wolf DeVoon | Apr 25 2008 3:31 utc | 7

Cabot Says Stocks Have Bottomed!
Commentary: It also sees market putting pieces in place for next big move up
By Peter Brimelow, MarketWatch
China Flips Switch and Stock Market Bolts!
Commentary: Manipulation can only end badly
By David Callaway, MarketWatch
Psst, (hint, hint), can you spell f-l-a-c-k-s?
Do you even read this shyte?

Posted by: Trevor Blankenship | Apr 25 2008 4:03 utc | 8

On topic,
Would it be to contemptuous to suggest, that perhaps, one or more stories showing and telling two different outcomes is a indirect indifference ploy by ptb? Just as often omitting something is still dishonest, and could be on the level of an out and out lie.
I’ll be so bold as to say, I know for a fact, ‘cognitive dissonance’ and ‘methodical confusion’, is a tactic of our alphabet soup agencies. But perhaps, this isn’t that in this instance.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Apr 25 2008 4:24 utc | 9

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