Take gas, car data out of retail sales reports, please

TheStreet.com media critic Marek Fuchs writes Monday that the business media focused too much on reporting Friday the overall retail sales number, which includes gas and car sales, without looking specifically at retail only.

Fuchs writes, “Look at the abject hopelessness, the grinding disappointment of this MarketWatch headline: ‘Retail sales fall 1.8% in fifth straight decline: Falling gas prices exaggerate drop in spending in November.’

“About halfway down, you get this: ‘Excluding both autos and gas, retail sales increased 0.3%, the first increase since July.’

“Come again? An increase in retail sales? A possible sign of life? There was a lot of discounting going on in November, so the savvy investor will keep that in mind when looking at raw sales numbers. But surely, even allowing for discounting, this is notable, no?

“The New York Times failed to note it in a headline, declaring flatly: ‘Retail Spending Weak in November.’

“Even as the article unfolded, it told the truth too slowly. The first mention we got of something going on without the volatile, unreliable contributions of gas and energy came when the article removed only automobile sales. This put retail sales at down 1.6%.”

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