Retail sales fall a little

Under the headline that "Retail Sales Plummet," the WSJ has this:

When gasoline sales are excluded, the fall in overall retail sales is more modest: a 2.5% drop in November and a 4% decline in December. A 40% drop in gasoline prices over the year-earlier period contributed to the sharp decline in total sales. . . .

The holiday retail-sales decline was much worse than the already-dire picture painted by industry forecasts, which had predicted sales ranging from a 1% drop to a more optimistic increase of 2.2%. . . . .

An up to 1% drop is an already-dire prediction? The media is just crazy about these issues. I wonder if the media didn't have such an extreme reaction whether the decline in sales is related to such hysteria.