The Times Buries Good Economic News, Emphasizes Hypothetical Bad News
Economic gloomsayer (and Times reporter) Vikas Bajaj has made something of a specialty in finding dark clouds in economic silver linings, and Thursday's hypothetical hand-wringing on the front-page of the Business section is no different ("What Could Bog Down the Bull - Slowing Earnings Threaten to Turn the Easy Going Into a Slog Through Mud").
"Stocks surged yesterday afternoon, sending the Dow Jones industrial average to within a hair of a new high, after the Federal Reserve pointed to strength in the economy and a moderation in inflation.
"Investors may want to enjoy it while they can.
"The road ahead promises to be a long, hard slog as corporate profits are starting to slow."
Meanwhile, actual good economic news (as opposed to Bajaj's hypothetical bad news) was relegated to page C-10, in Jeremy Peters' "Vigorous Consumer Spending Helped Economy Grow 3.5% at the End of 2006."
Also, In a separate story about Bush's speech to business leaders on Wall Street, Jim Rutenberg noted that Bush "was buoyed on [sic] yesterday by positive economic signals" - perhaps explaining why the Times buried them.
