How to Lie Academic-style

From CNN Money via Yahoo!: Job Boom Could Be Coming Soon.

There is no denying that the job market is weak.

The Department of Labor has reported that 432,000 people filed for unemployment benefits in the past week - making this the fifth straight week that jobless claims topped the 400,000 mark.

And so far this year, there has been a loss of 463,000 jobs.

Yet, some are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel on the job front. Economists at the University of Michigan said in a report released yesterday that 900,000 jobs will be added next year and that 2.6 million more will be created in 2010.

"To get this sort of recovery, you'll have to have a turnaround in housing. So you'll have to see a pickup in construction jobs. We could also get a pickup in vehicle manufacturing with the shift to smaller cars," she said.

Does anybody believe this?

We've had the biggest housing bubble in history, a financial bubble that dates back to 1983, and a credit bubble that has infested every single asset class worldwide.

The US "consumer" has no more access to credit. It's put-up-or-shut-up time.

We are just about to enter what is likely to be the most deep recession since the Great Depression. There are 18.4 million houses that are currently unsold and unoccupied in the US, and these people are betting on a turnaround in housing?

Jeez, even Chicago Cubs fans are not so retarded.