Don't Worry

Remember all the recent happy-dappy economic news about unemployment - again? Well, it's all baloney - again. Unemployment was down in November-December due to Christmas temp hiring for the holidays. The New Year arrives and presto chango, those jobs fade away. And the real economy? Pretty much always a month or so after the fact we hear things weren't so good after all and this month is no exception.
The Commerce Department reported orders of durable goods fell 3.4% in December. "Durable goods" are things like cars, washing machines and airplanes. While that might be understandable over the holidays, at the very end of the article the writer buried this little gem: 

"There was also weakness in a number of areas, and a key category that serves as a proxy for business investment plans edged down 0.6 percent in December after a similar decline in November and a 1.8 percent fall in October."

Okay, let's see - that's 3% down since October and since these are the predictors for future business investment, which means orders for say durable goods and increasing hiring to meet demand, I'm going to venture a guess and say it ain't looking real rosy for 2015. I'm shocked, shocked. But what does it matter? C'mon, be happy!

news.yahoo.com/orders-us-durable-goods-fell-3-4-percent-135217076--finance.html