U.S. construction spending unexpectedly posted its biggest increase in eight months in April, advancing for a second straight month as the private sector put money into both residential and nonresidential projects, according to a government report on Monday.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Oh to be able to surprise a sales manager with an unexpectedly lower sales forecast!\u00a0 If the experts are consistently surprised, what credentials do they have for being experts?<\/p>\n
Anyway, I am hopeful that the economy is turning, but I have to question if this is too early of a read.\u00a0 The GM bankruptcy is going to have seismic repercussions on unemployment which is a lagging indicator to start.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Isn\u2019t this an old marketing trick \u2013 include \u201csurprising,\u201d \u201cstunned,\u201d or \u201cunexpected\u201d in a headline?\u00a0 It seems to me that every time an economic report comes out, we are presented with one of these words to describe the data. The latest example comes from cnnmoney.com today: U.S. construction spending unexpectedly posted its biggest increase in eight months in April, advancing for a second straight month as the private sector put money into both residential and nonresidential projects, according to a government report on Monday. Oh to be able to surprise a sales manager with an unexpectedly lower sales forecast!\u00a0 If the experts are consistently surprised, what credentials do they have… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"bgseo_title":"","bgseo_description":"","bgseo_robots_index":"","bgseo_robots_follow":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[49],"tags":[1330,49,248,1331,1082],"class_list":["post-2031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-economy","tag-economic-recovery","tag-economy","tag-recession","tag-recovery","tag-unemployment"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5Oho-wL","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2224,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2010\/01\/2010-unemployment\/","url_meta":{"origin":2031,"position":0},"title":"2010 Unemployment","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"January 4, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"9.3 to 9.7% That\u2019s right, that is the expectation for the 2010 unemployment rate from the Federal Reserve based on this abcnews.com story.\u00a0 I find that number shockingly high, but it is realistic. Then there is this bit of information from Reuters (emphasis mine): Speaking at American Economic Association's mammoth\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Economy"","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/economy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2135,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2009\/10\/dont-trust-the-dow\/","url_meta":{"origin":2031,"position":1},"title":"Don’t Trust The Dow","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"October 15, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I have heard many cheerleader reports attempting to claim the recession is over and the recovery has begun.\u00a0 I\u2019m not so certain especially when these people note the stock market as the leading indicator.\u00a0 This article from CNNMoney.com explains why this cheerleader approach is flawed (my bold): Several experts point\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Economy"","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/economy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2191,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2009\/12\/a-real-economic-prediction\/","url_meta":{"origin":2031,"position":2},"title":"A Real-World Economic Prediction","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"December 8, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"This story from abcnews.com carries some weight in terms of a real economic forecast.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t good: More of America's largest companies will shrink their staffs than will hire in the next six months, according to the latest survey of their CEOs. Nineteen percent of the CEOs expect to expand\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Economy"","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/economy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1840,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2009\/01\/salespeople-with-emotional-needs\/","url_meta":{"origin":2031,"position":3},"title":"Salespeople With Emotional Needs","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"January 14, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the reasons we are so adamant about assessing sales candidates is to know what motivates and rewards the person.\u00a0 Once identified, these factors can be explored during a face-to-face interview.\u00a0 There is one reward that requires an in-depth discussion with any sales candidate who possesses it - Status\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Assessing"","block_context":{"text":"Assessing","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/hiring\/assessing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2068,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2009\/07\/where-the-jobs-will-come-from\/","url_meta":{"origin":2031,"position":4},"title":"Where The Jobs Will Come From","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"July 16, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Call me an optimist, but it is always of interest to see where \u201cexperts\u201d believe the recovery will begin.\u00a0 This information comes from the Herman Trend Alert and seems to make simple sense to me: When considering where the new jobs will come from, remember that there are two kinds\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Economy"","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/economy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1663,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2008\/07\/first-round-cuts\/","url_meta":{"origin":2031,"position":5},"title":"First Round Cuts","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"July 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The frequency of layoffs has started to rise as the economy continues it's slow progression (no, it hasn't recessed).\u00a0 Up here in Minnesota we have experienced some large layoffs recently.\u00a0 But there is an interesting point in all of these layoffs when it comes to salespeople. 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