As many of you know, I’ve been critical of the current landscape of economic data that’s reported to the masses. As we become smarter, more interconnected, and more technologically advanced, these reports lose their edge, often lagging behind what the free market is already generating, and instead begin to serve only as headline generators. The issue is that traditional economic indicators frequently fall victim to human bias—and possibly corruption—just to stay relevant in what is now an ultra competitive marketplace for data.
Most recently, I’m studying the Atlanta Fed’s abrupt warning of a looming ~3% GDP correction all adjusted in a matter of weeks. Shortly after, the Nasdaq-100 dropped 10% in just eight trading days. Here’s the sequence of events:
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
What stands out to me in all of this is the timing with so many things changing in DC. Even more so, with a history of trading activity from the Atlanta Fed that even Jerome Powell had to investigate:
And while Fed officials should always be 100% partial, it is hard to ignore the power of human bias. Many forget that economic data reports are created by people—and people have inherent bias. Even with the best intentions, bias inevitably seeps in over time. Countless studies confirm this as a fact.
If you spend enough time in financial markets—especially in investing and trading—you know that people will go to great lengths to win. “So, you’re saying a single economic data report can send markets into a volatile frenzy?”
“How do we access that?”
“Can we steer it in our favor?”
This is why I am writing about why these economic data points need to end sooner rather than later:
And also:
I’m not making any claims here beyond the fact I want to see and be apart of a new movement in economic data that is free, open, and made by the private market. Everything else is just noise—possibly shaped by human bias and amplified by the media machine. One of my favorite examples of this is Truflation.
Let’s build the future of new economic data!