A reliable account of the latest US retail sales, industrial production, housing starts and consumer sentiment cannot be produced from the supplied figures.
The entries provide levels for the measures, but none provides a valid reference month. The supplied levels therefore do not establish which month each reading describes or whether it is the latest reading for that measure.
The Census Bureau retail sales entry lists $0.40 billion, but its reference month contains HTML text instead of a date. The monthly change, prior month's change and twelve-month change are unavailable. That prevents a factual lead reporting how much retail sales changed and which month the change covers.
The listed retail sales level does not supply the missing comparisons. Without the monthly change and prior month's change, the entry does not establish how the monthly movement compares with the preceding month's movement. The unavailable twelve-month change also leaves that comparison unresolved.
The Federal Reserve Board industrial production entry lists an index reading of 400.00, with 2017 equal to 100. Its reference month also contains HTML text. Both the monthly and twelve-month changes are unavailable.
The industrial production entry therefore supplies neither a valid month for the index reading nor the changes needed to describe its movement over those periods. The stated index level does not resolve the missing date or either of the unavailable comparisons.
The Census Bureau housing starts entry lists an annual rate of 400,000 units. Its reference month is corrupted, and the monthly change is unavailable.
The housing starts figure consequently cannot be assigned to a valid reference month from this entry. The annual rate is supplied, but the entry does not establish how that rate changed from the prior month.
The University of Michigan consumer sentiment entry lists 400.0. Its reference month is corrupted, and the previous reading is unavailable.
That entry likewise does not establish the month covered by the sentiment reading. With the previous reading unavailable, the supplied entry does not establish whether consumer sentiment rose, fell or was unchanged from that reading.
Without valid reference months, none of these entries can be identified as the latest reading. It is also impossible to establish whether the four measures cover different months. Correct dates, validated levels and the missing comparisons are needed before publication.
Those gaps leave both the timing of the readings and the stated comparisons unresolved. Repeating the supplied levels would not establish the missing months, changes or previous sentiment reading needed for the account.
