About Those Strangely Strong Government Retail Sales Figures

I wasn't the only one wondering how retailers spun yarns of woe, while the government told a tale of mirth for the month of November. SeekingAlpha does a great job of getting to the bottom of those nifty seasonal adjustments. (Click Here). When I worked in mainstream media newsrooms we often talked about those seasonal adjustments and all the games the government would play with that stuff. The thought occurs to me that perhaps the present Administration could seaonally adjust the President's present approval ratings to give them a boost? hmmm.