I feel the need to post something, just to prove I’m not on vacation. There were even important releases today (CPI, New Residential Construction (pdf)), but nothing struck me as must read.

CPI is always a bit annoying to me because of the fact that owner’s equivalent rent (OER) is pulled out of someone’s rectum, but is responsible for 25% of the total reading. OER is supposed to represent housing. However, it tracks neither housing prices nor rental prices, and no, it doesn’t follow either metric weighted for activity in that given sector either. It’s bogus. Also, there’s the fact that so-called “core” CPI tracked by the media ignores gas and food prices. It wasn’t that long ago that family budgets were being broken by high gas prices, and an unprecedented number of people are going hungry in the US, so to take those out of “core” simply because they’re volatile seems a bit silly.

New residential construction is important, and it tanked (-10.6%), coming in below expectations. Since this is a leading indicator (that’s a good read), some people are nervous.

What else? …

My boss became a citizen today. I sent him a txt message:

Congratulations. Now you have to start drinking Bud Light.

His response:

Never! Never! I didn’t know! Can I have my green card back?

I’ve already tried to contact INS.

My copy of Super Mario Bros. Wii just arrived. Ciao.