Economic data may be completely meaningless now that the Fed is openly blowing a bubble without any qualms, but even the Fed at least pretends its policy is guided by said economic data. Which is a problem because for the second week in a row, Initial Claims data is absolute garbage, following an admission by the BLS that "two states" are still working through the claims backlog caused by the "computer-system changeover." Recall that last week's "computer upgrade [3]" was the reason why claims plunged from 323K to 292K (on expectations of 330K). And yes, they actually put that "excuse" on paper:
[4]
Today, the number was 309K, but instead of indicating any improvement in the economy, and hence a potential Taper catalyst (yes, we laughed too), it merely shows that at least two states have been slow to complete their computer upgrades. According to Bloomberg strategist the computer "issue" may be resolved in the next 2 weeks. Or it may not. If it wasn't such a farce, it would be funny.
The absolutely meaningless chart:
[5]
But what was hilarious is the response in gold. Apparently a computer upgrade taking longer than expected is worth a $10 flash dump in gold. Because, you know, the taper.
[6]
Even SkyNet is getting dumber by the minute.