I Think I Give Up

I've been of the mind that the economy is slowing.

Au contrair':

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Retail sales in May rose at the strongest pace since January 2006, while import prices surged, adding to recent data suggesting the U.S. economy is recovering strongly from a first-quarter slowdown.

Sales by U.S. retailers rose 1.4 percent, more than twice as much as expected, as consumers shrugged off higher gasoline prices and a housing slump to spend more on cars, clothing, building materials and electronics, a Commerce Department report showed on Wednesday.

I give up. I throw in the towel. Chucky has beat me down and eviscerated my thoughts on the economy.

Where's the money coming from? No one knows.

I suspect that they key may be employment. Until people begin losing jobs they seem willing to spend whether they have the money or not. Until that particular dynamic changes, I guess the economy continues to grow based on that new plasma teevee.

(postscript) Whenever you capitulate, it usually means that things are about to go against you .... in the other way.

Update: Mish explains why this report is likely meaningless, i.e. government numbers (subject to revisions) do not match up with what the individual retailers are reporting. Could be. Hell if I know.