Now we know Argentina is REALLY in trouble

Headline of the day:

Fernández, to copy US inflation data methods

Cristina
Fernández, Argentine president-elect, has vowed to restore credibility
in the country’s official inflation figures by copying US
data-gathering methods, in an attempt to calm fears about government
manipulation of statistics. (FT)

Classic!

Source:
Fernández to copy US inflation data methods
Jude Webber
FT,  October 30 2007 21:26 | Last updated: October 30 2007 21:26
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/14fddb84-872d-11dc-a3ff-0000779fd2ac.html

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What's been said:

Discussions found on the web:
  1. Chris commented on Nov 1

    Nice work. If all the other countries would adopt our model as well then we could crush global inflation once and for all.

  2. MooPoint commented on Nov 1

    I wonder if I can employ US data-gathering methods for figuring out my income for tax time. Income -ex income! Fantastic!

  3. dark1p commented on Nov 1

    Smart, and she’s not bad looking, either. Just about my age, too….

  4. Estragon commented on Nov 1

    We held the coastline

    They held the highlands

    And they were sharp

    As sharp as knives

    They heard the hum of our motors

    They counted the rotors

    And waited for us to arrive.

    And we would all go down together

    We said we’d all go down together

    Yes we would all go down together.

    (Billy Joel – Goodnight Saigon)

  5. Tom B commented on Nov 1

    Didn’t Bush buy a ton of land in Argentina? Isn’t that where retired despots go? He’ll feel right at home, I guess.

  6. Neal commented on Nov 1

    We have a big box of numbers to send, too.

  7. scorpio commented on Nov 1

    not just despots. we’re all gonna want to live someplace as cheap and nice as BA’s Palermo Viejo before long

  8. Marcus Aurelius commented on Nov 1

    If you don’t want to know the answer, don’t do the math.

  9. Marcus Aurelius commented on Nov 1

    OT: Just checked the ticker – yikes! Maybe the Fed should cut another 50BP today.

  10. Winston Munn commented on Nov 1

    Don’t lie with me, Argentina
    Cause food and fuel do matter
    It’s what we eat
    and how we drive
    to try and stay alive

  11. J. Bridges commented on Nov 1

    BR,

    I know you avoid ad hominem comments, but I thought you might appreciate this contrarian indicator, as you yourself deserve credit for its genesis.

    As you noted over the summer, the Forbes shill Dennis Kneale called the market top– almost to the day. Well, he has just sounded the death Knell (or Death Kneale) for the chosen segment of momentum in the market: Technology.

    Today, after the markets shed a few pounds, he offered this advice: “Tech is on sale. Investors should jump into tech here.” Sure, still up 15% on the year, the index is completely immune from any selling. RIGHT.

    Prediction: the crowded trade du jour– short financials, long tech– is going to unwind. While sane investors are managing risk, and paring over-heated positions, we can count on the clueless like Mr. Kneale to ring the bell for us.

    Thanks, Dennis. Keep up the Kudlow Lite happy talk.

  12. ken h commented on Nov 1

    Gotta e-mail this to Kudlow, See how he spins this straw into gold for his loser buddies.

    Does this guy really think anybody listens to him. What a joke!

  13. km4 commented on Nov 1

    Snippets from ‘Don’t cry for me Argentina’

    It won’t be easy, you’ll think it strange

    You won’t believe me

    I had to let it happen, I had to change

  14. mhm commented on Nov 1

    From The Economist:
    “””
    …Now, inflation is thought to be near 20%—the exact figure is not known because the government has modified the consumer-price index to keep the official rate in single digits—and energy shortages last winter caused blackouts and rationing…
    “””

    The real trouble is that you don’t know if that is about Argentina or the USA…

    http://economist.com/world/la/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10050072

  15. Jim commented on Nov 1

    Larry Krudlow and Ben Stein are totally out of touch with their prediction of 40 dollar Oil. Please remind him Barry.

  16. sk commented on Nov 1

    That is funny ! Nicely picked up.

    -K

  17. VJ commented on Nov 1

    Jim,

    Larry Krudlow and Ben Stein are totally out of touch…

    That’s a given.

    with their prediction of 40 dollar Oil.

    Which dollar ?
    .

  18. amok92 commented on Nov 1

    Doug Kass said that Citi’s board is going to hold an emergency meeting this weekend to can Prince, anybody want to bet on the size of his package?

    And no, I don’t mean that package – get your mind out of tha gutter

  19. Jack Tors commented on Nov 2

    Oooh! What’s that? His package, you say?? Will Brett Weir be there?

  20. Stuart commented on Nov 2

    Peter Schiff on the GDP figure.

    “Yesterday (October 31st), as the dollar fell to new record lows and oil and gold prices surged to new highs, Wall Street remained fixated on wholly meaningless government data that managed to report the lowest inflation in the last half century. These bizarre numbers were integral in allowing the Commerce Department to report 3.9% annualized GDP growth in the third quarter, which was heralded by the bulls as evidence that a resilient U.S. economy had shrugged off the problems in the housing and mortgage markets. However, the government’s ability to make “economic growth” magically appear is based purely on statistical finesse.

    To arrive at this rate, the government had to assume that inflation during the quarter ran at an annualized rate of .8% (that’s less than 1%). That is the lowest rate of inflation used to calculate U.S. GDP since the Eisenhower administration. With oil priced at almost $100 per barrel, gold futures trading over $800 per ounce, the dollar hitting record lows, and the Fed printing money like it is going out of style, the government has the nerve to claim that current inflation is the lowest it has been in half a century. Unbelievable!”

    OK, with that said, Argentina is now going to emulate US data gathering methods???? That has to be some sick satirical joke!

    One wonders how people can be so stupid and/or grossly ignorant and/or blind (willfully or otherwise).

  21. Idaho_Spud commented on Nov 2

    C’mon guys, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! Argentina just wants to mimic the US so they can get away with this BS without being called on it.

    Unfortunately they don’t have CNBC to tell them how swimmingly everything is going, so it probably won’t work for them.

  22. Drewbert commented on Nov 2

    Well, some people reckon he’s heading to Paraguay since Bechtel just won a contract to build a big runway there, but my money’s on George and Dick following Halliburton to safety in Dubai.

    Either that, or the Bush clan kept one of those old USAF bases in Saudi Arabia and converted it to a family compound.

  23. justin commented on Nov 2

    Is it my imagination, or are fast-food prices going up? Had not eaten at a Mac Donald’s in over two years until yesterday and it seemed criminal, to charge what they charged, for so little.

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