Parsing economic numbers.

All those Liberals, who are eager to talk to death any good news about the economy, at first pointed to the "green shoots" and now point to improved earnings by some companies. Their latest talking point is Yum Brands. It reported a Q3 profit of 69 cents. Wall Street loved it and the Obamabots loved it and we would love it if this number was real. So, what happens when we parse the number?

Does this number reflect an improving economy, since Yum Brands reflects the discretionary income of ordinary Americans (Yum Brands include KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Long John Silver)? No! There were two components factored into the improved profits at Yum Brands: 1. the 5.8% drop in the cost of materials due to deflation and 2. the gain in money when earnings in foreign countries is translated into dollars, due to the slide in the value of the dollar. In fact, sales in the US have gone down about 6% on the average, with Pizza Hut leading the charge by a 13% drop in US sales. Americans have opted for the cheaper brand of DiGiorno, which increased its sales 20%.

Not that Yum brands is doing badly. No! It has opened 80 stores in China and plans to open 2000 more in the coming years. The economic conditions created by real Communists are in fact better for business than the conditions created by the Obamabots. Something to ponder. Obama's Nobel Peace Prize was given because he is bad for our country.