Is the US Industrial Economy Growing?
Is the US Industrial Economy Growing?
As I’ve gotten older the phrase “Talking Heads” is much more informed than it was in my younger years. It’s tiresome because almost every single, trusted source for information has become a talking head and to say I’m gobsmacked by that would be an understatement.
Today almost all of my news comes from one of three sources – The Weather on the local news (yes just the weather), My favorite Business News Station and ITR.
ITR is trusted because they back up what they have to say, good news or bad, with real data. Not data compiled from a questionnaire filled with questions that will get them the answers they want to hear. No, these folks have nothing to offer their clientele but the veracity of what they say; unlike much of today’s news which relies on the veracity of what you want to hear.
There are 2 links below. The first will take you to a brief written by ITR’s President, Alan Beaulieu. It’s an overview of how media makes stories sensational by what they do not say. We’ve become so worried about time that all we read are headlines and the media knows this. “Existing home sales fell in November; Retail Sales fell in December; Employment declined in December.” Combined, this information should lead to mass suicide but if you read the real story behind the headline, 2021 is looking pretty good.
The other brief is titled Business Cycle Opportunities by Alex Chausovsky. I had the good fortune of being at a Management Recruiters meeting a couple of years ago where Alex spoke. Not only is Alex an extraordinary speaker (Are you ready for it yet again?) he compiles mountains of data from amazing sources and presents it in a way even I can understand. More importantly in a way I can believe.
My advice? Always look to the quality of the data and NEVER take the word of someone entreating you to ‘just believe me’. Stop reading headlines and start looking to the content. Because in the end no one will accept your negligence being the result of ‘but I read the headlines’.