U.S. PPI delayed due to new calculation problem

[MaineDem]

The release of the U.S. Producer Price Index for May has been delayed indefinitely by renewed calculation problems, but figures already out are accurate, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Wednesday.

"We don't know definitively what our difficulties are. We don't know exactly what is causing the difficulties," Irwin Gerduk, assistant commissioner for BLS' PPI section, told Reuters. "The (past) numbers are right."

This is the latest in a string of calculation woes that have forced several delays, starting with January's index.

http://www.reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml?type=economicNews&storyID=5386403§ion=investing

[NMDemDist2]

1. the numbers were so bad the (mis)administration couldn't

find a way to spin/confuse them huh??

[Born Free]

32. exactly

you hit the nail on the head!

[bemildred]

2. Yeah, right. The abacus jammed. nt

[shraby]

3. I'll bet they don't know

what the problem is...I can tell them in 3 words...high gas prices.

[k in IA]

4. Good Lord, here we go again.

[gristy]

5. Friggin amazing.

Absolutely friggin' amazing.
So they aren't getting the numbers they want or expect, so there must "be an error somewhere". I suspect they plan on using the same damn logic counting the votes in November.

Criminals. So many criminals. And so few sheriffs.

[Rex]

6. Delayed indefinitely?

Why even keep records if you just cover up the bad news? I'm just waiting to hear that elections are suspended indefinitely.

[UpInArms]

7. ROFLMAO!

"We don't know definitively what our difficulties are. We don't know exactly what is causing the difficulties," Irwin Gerduk, assistant commissioner for BLS' PPI section, told Reuters. "The (past) numbers are right."

BLS: Uh-oh, these number don't look so good.

WH: Delay that report.

BLS: What should we say?

WH: Tell them you don't know, but make it very confusing and convincing.

BLS: But that will be difficult.

WH: That's a good word. Use it a lot.

(edited cuz the BOL and BLS are sort of different)

[benfranklin1776]

13. They are a mendacious bunch of apparatchiks Stalin would be proud of

"We don't know what our problems are and we can't calculate but we know our past numbers are right" Wow what a confidence inducing statement that is! Its like a surgeon saying "I can't figure out how to do basic surgery any more but I can say confdidently that all my past operations were A-OK and the patients are doing fine" What utter and complete palaver and they are so brazen about these deceptions now. This comes on the heels of another branch of the Ministry of Truth, the State Department, revising their terrorism statistics after being caught undercounting the number of terrorist attacks in 2003. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x611855

This have perfected the classic Orwellian-Soviet style technique, bury the bad data or blatantly ignore any data which would bring the premier and the regime into disfavor. Their data and statistics have as much credibilty as the Soviet data reporting the "stellar" results of the latest five year plan.

[DUJunkie]

8. Let it cook a Little longer,

it well be aright.

[Cocoa]

9. this stinks

obviously inflation is rising, it must be worse than anyone thought.

[happynewyear]

14. yeah I passed up a $15 chicken yesterday

I guess driving it all the way to the store packed up like that warranted the price. I dunno - I didn't bit (literally speaking). I'll pay $15 for a chicken WHEN HELL FREEZES OVER.

Whew, glad I'm pretty much a vegetarian! :D

[qanda]

10. Secretary Snow-Job was on C-SPAN this morning

Someone asked him about fiat dollars and he had the nerve to say that he couldn't comment about it because it's the Federal Reserve that sets monetary policy. I thought it was very comforting that those who are in charge of spending the money don't know where all this money is coming from.

[mbperrin]

11. The problem is that the number is in the 20% annual range!

Look at the flip side of the PPI - productivity -which measures how much more people work for no more money and measure the loss in purchasing power - you'll find a positive correlation.

And the last productivity number was nearly 4% in the quarter and stepping up now!

[alfredo]

21. You can only speed up the production line only so much. Soon

quality drops, injuries increase, and sabotage as a defensive measure increases.

[mbperrin]

24. Absolutely right!

What we call in west Texas being shop-handed!

[alfredo]

28. Yeah, it is amazing how easy it is to drop a tool into the machinery.

or hit the wrong switch.

[dusty64]

12. Oh yeah I'll just

bet there was a calculation problem. This regime has NO credibility whatsover.

[truthisfreedom]

15. maybe they can delay them till july or august, then delay the june ones

until september, and delay the july ones past the election...

stalling and stonewalling are the only thing this misadministration can do, aside from LYING and VIOLATING THE CONSTITUTION. it is a CORRUPT BUNCH OF THUGS in a final, desperate lunge to keep in power.

[dusty64]

16. Kick, cause this

is VERY odd. The proof of our regime's cooking of the economic books grows daily and this is just another big story putting ALL of their bullshit data in question.

[PATRICK]

17. Durn Diebold software

you touch the screen and it plays an MP3 of "Everything is Beautiful".

[TrogL]

18. This has happened before

When the numbers were so bad they didn't dare release them.

[UpInArms]

19. kick

:kick:

[Just Me]

20. *choke* Ugh *gag* give me a break!!!

These people wig me out to NO end!!! Corrupt corporate "fudging" has moved fully into our government!!! This makes me absolutely crazy!!

:freak:

[Pathwalker]

22. Poppy Bush did this in '92, but then the press

called him on it. They were fudging the numbers then, too.

[Yavin4]

23. This Is What Happens When You Politicize Fed Policy

We've had short-term interest rates at abnormally low levels going on three years now. There's no reason to keep interest rates this low other than to prop up Bush's campaign. The downside to this is hyper-inflation.

[buycitgo]

25. so where's the best place to buy some gold?

seriously

[neverforget]

26. Don't like the numbers? Don't release them! That'll make the

problem go away! <sweeping under the rug> :eyes:

[On the Road]

27. Aren't There Some Private Estimates Available?

Seems like one of our economically-mided DUers posted some a month or two ago when the numbers were delayed.

Inflation still seems to seriously underestimate increases in the cost of living.

[banana republican]

29. Inflation is worse than expected.

I have seen the price of a Prime Rib go from $4.99 to $6.99 a lb. (on sale)

spagetti pasta from $.99 to $1.25 a lb.

Gas from $1.35 to $2.39 a gallon

[GaryL]

30. Lying Assholes!

I encourage everyone to phone his/her congress critter and let them know we're on to this ridiculous shit. Also, contact your local news crews and complain LOUDLY! Maybe somebody might wake up. This admin. knows absolutely no bounds. I am PISSED!!!!! :mad:

[Just Me]

31. Et al "miscalculations": rate of terrorism, cost of medicare, cost of war,

jobs created, # of damning leaks, rise in anti-Bushism, etc.