This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.

"End Of The Recession" Fail Visualized Through Google Trends

Tyler Durden's picture




 

The NBER tried to pull a fast one on America a few weeks back when out of the blue it concluded that the recession ended in June 2009. Alas, Google Trends shows otherwise. The attached chart demonstrates the average use of the terms "food stamps", "I need a job", "unemployment claim" and "government assistance" via google trends. Either Americans are really clueless and are completely unable to get the memo that it is now all clear to spend, spend, spend, or the BLS, as John Lohman has suggested, aka the US version of the Ministry of Truth has infiltrated the corpulent and proud NBER Ph.D.s flagbearers.

h/t John Lohman

 

- advertisements -

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Wed, 10/13/2010 - 12:32 | 646438 zwscott33
zwscott33's picture

type in government assistance in google, theres a link where you can literaly print dollar bills off your home printer

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:02 | 646548 hugolp
hugolp's picture

Bernie, is that you?

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 14:49 | 646901 Temporalist
Temporalist's picture

There's an ap for that.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 15:34 | 647041 A Nanny Moose
A Nanny Moose's picture

Googling Google engages the infinite improbability drive

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 12:36 | 646447 Bearster
Bearster's picture

So naturally the stock market is up over 1% today.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 12:36 | 646450 Rainman
Rainman's picture

Haha.....now this is a curious new way to invalidate lies and damned lies. Next we can study the search trend on " size of splat when jumping from tall buildings.....10 stories, 8, 5, 3 ". 

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 12:38 | 646454 themosmitsos
themosmitsos's picture

I wanna see a chart on Google searches for that Kardashian whore, then you'll see why we're in hell.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:04 | 646562 goldmiddelfinger
goldmiddelfinger's picture

check your spelling Murkowski !

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:31 | 646653 BobPaulson
BobPaulson's picture

FYI, the SS logo might be considered offensive to some.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 12:40 | 646456 Mercury
Mercury's picture

Thanks to ZeroHedge and the SEIU, next week's most Googled phrase will be: Where my free house at? 

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 12:48 | 646495 espirit
espirit's picture

Here in Florida and on the news last night, houses aren't free. You pick up the binder which shows the homes you can get for $50 per month.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:16 | 646603 Spastica Rex
Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:35 | 646652 hedgeless_horseman
hedgeless_horseman's picture

"pictures of wife of spastica rex"

About 625 results (0.44 seconds) of which my favorite is this:

http://portland.indymedia.org/media/images/2005/05/316756.jpg

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:56 | 646726 Spastica Rex
Spastica Rex's picture

Bwa Ha Ha!

Good old Stumptown.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 15:17 | 646988 mtomato2
mtomato2's picture

That was really, really, really funny.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 15:26 | 647008 Stun Gun
Stun Gun's picture

How about this youtube video on how to be a mortgage deadbeat? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap8SdIvSQAg I don't know whether to laugh or cry!

http://www.stungunstopepperspray.com/

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 12:40 | 646461 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

Tyler, the recession truly is over for America. It's just that the Bureau of Lies and Statistics, along with the NBER, have redefined "America" to clarify the issue.

"America" is now defined as all those who have direct access (or is a friend of a friend) to the various Fed pump operations. Then there are the suckers, deadbeats and epic human failures that constitute the old middle class, hereby renamed the "indentured servant class".

"America" is thriving. The "indentured servant class" is whatever we tell them they are. Now shut up and put your back into it.

This message brought to you by your friendly BLS. If we can't distort, obfuscate or obscure it, it ain't important.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 16:53 | 647319 Rotwang
Rotwang's picture

which is why we should bring back indentures as forms of contract.

the ripped edge tell.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 12:44 | 646484 uberfinch
uberfinch's picture

It would be great to see domestic search data on: a) PM-related search parameters (Gold, GLD, silver, etc); b) luxury goods ("speed boat," "rolex," "Lexus,"; and c) doomsday searches ( "hyperinflation," etc)

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 12:47 | 646493 MrMorden
MrMorden's picture

So dollar: up.  Dow: up.  S&P: up.  Gold: up.  Silver: up...

It makes your head want to explode.  The decoupling from reality is staggering.  

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 12:52 | 646510 espirit
espirit's picture

No, the dollah's headed for the toilet. That's about the only way to pump the mrkts without Pomo.

BTW- the new pomo schedule is released today.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:45 | 646702 ZeroPower
ZeroPower's picture

Dollar is up? Where do you get your info, CNBC?

Hint: check out fresh lows on USDCAD

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 12:49 | 646497 goldmiddelfinger
goldmiddelfinger's picture

The top is called today 10/13 !!!

See this. STRANGE to say the least!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NOUqw0aJ7w

Mark your calanders

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 12:50 | 646502 His Dudeness
His Dudeness's picture

Breaking News:

Google Search Trend Data Used By Employers To Prove That Workers Continue Wasting Valuable Time On The Internet. More Pink Slips Planned.

GAGGLE, a new stealth internet search tool, planning to launch to keep ZH's Tyler Durden from embarrassing NBER further. Website developers, asked why they are based in Bangkok, said: "Because this is the most painful city in the world." (smile)

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 12:51 | 646504 Chris Jusset
Chris Jusset's picture

Show me a Google Trends graph for "Bernanke is an idiot" or "Bernanke is a total fucking moron"

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 12:56 | 646531 espirit
espirit's picture

"I love using google trends for this kind of fun glimpses into reality. Here is one of Zero Hedge becoming more popular:"

Tyler - Expanding into the foreign language speaking countries is going to require you to hire some linguists.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 12:52 | 646507 Eureka Springs
Eureka Springs's picture

They don't have meds for recession, they only have meds for depression.

So what do you call it when 50 million Americans (and growing) are on life support?

 

I would be willing to wager these numbers would be through the proverbial google roof if the poor could afford a computer and internet access.... much more so if America had decent fiber optic service to every home.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 12:53 | 646516 Mr Lennon Hendrix
Mr Lennon Hendrix's picture

And then there is this: I like to think it is in an upward trend and ready for another breakout!

http://www.google.com/trends?q=zerohedge

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:23 | 646633 MaxVernon
MaxVernon's picture

I love how Singapore ranks higher than the USA in searches for Zerohedge. 

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 20:04 | 647874 Scalded Frog
Scalded Frog's picture

Isn't it kind of odd that #1 region is Singapore but it's
#3 under cities with 8 of the top 10 cities in the US?  No one in Singapore searches in Chinese?

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 12:53 | 646518 George Costanza
George Costanza's picture

For investors/speculators the economy does not really matter.  16% underemployment, rampant foreclosures, already "priced in" and discounted. 

Speculating/investing are almost independent from the economy (for now)

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:17 | 646607 cougar_w
cougar_w's picture

Investing is now the game of kings.

One of these days, an "investor" will be someone who laid up extra firewood before the onset of winter.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:41 | 646688 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

Back to basics. How quaint.

For those currently rolling in the "dough" they can't possibly visualize how important bread dough might become very soon.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 12:55 | 646522 Caviar Emptor
Caviar Emptor's picture

Some paid "Expert" said yesterday that the only ingredient missing from this economy was "Confidence!". You gotta love it. In October 2008 they also thought that "Confidence!" was the only thing we needed to avert a massive systemic collapse in capital markets. Lol! It only took $13 Trillion in addition to "Confidence!" to reverse the near-death experience. 

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:02 | 646547 espirit
espirit's picture

It's true, it needs CON-fidence.

Sorry, nobody left to con. I'd just as soon leave JPM, GS, C, BAC et al to pickpocket nickels from each other.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:03 | 646554 Caviar Emptor
Caviar Emptor's picture

Hehe. Wink Wink. I think the "Confidence!" artists are asking us to have confidence in them with our money. 

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 12:56 | 646530 HarryWanger
HarryWanger's picture

Technically speaking, the recession, as defined by NBER, is over. Whether that translates into reality is another story. But technically, they are correct.

Until GDP starts slipping negative again, we won't have a technical recession. Just meaningless words.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:04 | 646549 Caviar Emptor
Caviar Emptor's picture

Actually, Harry.....

They fudged their prior definition. They asserted that 1981-82 counted as a "double-dip" because GDP regained it's pre-recession peak and therefore could be counted as a separate recession. Unlike back then, this economy did no such thing. Technically then, we're still in the same depression. 

Put another way, when you get a cascading structural collapse, you can have a bounce just like a ball keeps bouncing while it falls down a flight of stairs.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:04 | 646561 espirit
espirit's picture

Harry-

Just curious if you get your GDP numbers from the same people that print the lies.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:07 | 646572 HarryWanger
HarryWanger's picture

As I said, it's their technical definition based on the GDP numbers they receive from the government. Lies or not, it's what they use and hence the conclusion they formed.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:18 | 646611 Caviar Emptor
Caviar Emptor's picture

Like I said, they're using ANY positive growth rate (a Bounce) to signal a new expansion. But if we don't exceed the pre-recesison peak, the economy is still contracting in plain English. Until and unless it can prove the trend wrong. 

Like a ball that you push down a flight of stairs, it will bounce (positive directional deflection) after each successive drop to a lower step. 

Not only are they fudging their own definitions, their whole system has a fatal design flaw built in that they don't see: their numbers can't detect a true depression ie a structural reset lower. Which defeats the whole point of using NBER as a guide to economic cycles. Until proven otherwise by exceeding pre-recession peak GDP, we're in a secular contraction with a cyclical bounce.

 

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:19 | 646618 Mr Lennon Hendrix
Mr Lennon Hendrix's picture

Damn it, who stopped giving Harry his meds?  Hyperinflation is a hellava drug!

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:20 | 646625 redpill
redpill's picture

If their definition of a recession doesn't reflect reality, then it's not a very useful measure.

 

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:08 | 646576 BustedandDisgusted
BustedandDisgusted's picture

Lol, moron bob pisani actually just said that today's volume has picked up and is adding to the bullish sentiment got to love Obama's propaganda machine spewing out the b.s.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:22 | 646631 redpill
redpill's picture

The name is spelled PissAnti

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:44 | 646697 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

Piss-on-me

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:15 | 646595 cougar_w
cougar_w's picture

Google is not the first to do this.

During all major wars, a common tactic is to read the newspapers of the enemy country. From this you glean all sorts of valuable information about the state of mind of the people, about their communities, and regarding industry. Even if everything on the front page is scripted propaganda the "help wanted"s likely won't be.

I'm not sure trends mean much in this context; we are trending right off the map, as it were, into the lands of mythical beasts. But it is interesting and worth paying attention to.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:30 | 646649 Caviar Emptor
Caviar Emptor's picture

When Google Trends starts picking up "Molotov" it's time to head for the country.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:46 | 646703 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

I prefer my Molotov Cocktail straight up and ready for instant deployment. See picture for proper handling.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molotov_cocktail

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 15:25 | 647007 hedgeless_horseman
hedgeless_horseman's picture

I believe that the diesel-soaked rag in zip-lock bag duct taped to bottle of gas with a little styrofoam is the latest version.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 18:49 | 647681 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

I'm old school baby.

Simply because I'm thick as a brick and couldn't learn something new if my life depended upon it.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:29 | 646646 George Costanza
George Costanza's picture

of course since the unemployed and underwater portions of our population are simply being left behind, whether we are in a recession or not does not matter to investors/speculators. <sarcasm off>    Seems that corporations and markets are "moving on" and just leaving a large portion of the population to be supported by government programs.  Oh wait, the markets are also supported by government programs

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:36 | 646673 Caviar Emptor
Caviar Emptor's picture

Yep, that's what happens when you get massive offshoring and capital flight: 40% of S&P profits are overseas. Apple makes things in China and sells them to Americans. Investment dollars have indeed moved on. Some are hoping for a real collapse so that American wages can be cheaper than a third world nation. Then investment might flow back.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:40 | 646684 George Costanza
George Costanza's picture

the CNBC shills like to say that 90% of potential workers are employed. What they forget is that many jobs are too low paying (form of deflation) as compared to pre-recession jobs. 

Hey, 90% are working, that's a pretty good economy, so markets rally on!!!!

Absolutely no real analysis done, in fact if you do the analysis, you can't buy stocks, your analysis will stop you

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 13:45 | 646701 Caviar Emptor
Caviar Emptor's picture

The key word is "potential" workers. The available pool, as defined by BLS, keeps shrinking because they are either considered "discouraged" or simply no longer qualified due to chronic unemployment. Also, the more ex-workers are jailed for theft, the lower the available pool.

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 14:41 | 646884 williambanzai7
williambanzai7's picture

Wed, 10/13/2010 - 15:55 | 647106 Stun Gun
Stun Gun's picture

+10

Tue, 11/16/2010 - 10:55 | 730687 daniel
daniel's picture

Really this is a great post from an expert and thank you very much for sharing this valuable information with us.
cheap vps
windows vps
forex vps
ucvhost

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!