Media Reports on Retail Sales Were Dead Wrong -- Sales Were Strong (But The "Recovery" Still Sucks)

``If you are looking for signs of an economic slowdown, you won't find them in these numbers. That being said, in the big picture, this recovery is poor. Unlike nominal retail sales, retail sales ex gas remain below 2003 to 2007 levels. This difference is even more striking considering that US population has grown by 10% over that time.  That means that real retail sales per capita have been falling for 9 years, a fact which no one in the Wall Street media mob ever mentions. ''