Coming to terms with different ways to interpret retail sales data

TheStreet.com’s Marek Fuchs tries to come to terms Friday with how the business media could have said so many different things about the same May retail sales numbers.

Fuchs wrote, “Both Investor’s Business Daily and The Wall Street Journal sally forth with weather metaphors in their headlines that say totally opposite things.

“Said Investor’s Business Daily: ‘Retailers See Sales Spring Back In May As Most Beat Views.’

“Said The Wall Street Journal: ‘Retail Sales Fail to Disperse Clouds.’

“And you wonder why, when he reads the business media, it is always raining in The Business Press Maven’s soul. Put the two leads beside each other. Then read them and weep.

“Investor’s Business Daily: ‘After a bleak April, retailers posted stronger-than-expected May sales, with most beating views, as pent-up demand from the season’s slow start drove shoppers to purchase summer goods.”

“The Wall Street Journal: ‘The nation’s retailers reported modest sales increases for May, but a persistent slowdown in consumer spending could threaten their results in the crucial fall and holiday season.'”

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