The 7 Unreliable Economic Indicators That Move Markets

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earthquake cracks crumble collapse Philippines

REUTERS/Erik De Castro

A vehicle transporting a body of an earthquake victim tries to pass through a destroyed road in La Libertad, Negros Oriental in central Philippines, February 7, 2012.

Investors and traders live on weekly and monthly economic reports published by private and public data agencies.

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With the government shut down, much of the popular economic data -- like the closely followed monthly U.S> jobs report -- has been delayed.

But maybe we're better off without some of these reports.

The Bank of England keeps a table of which indicators correspond nicely to observed global growth. Air freight and Suez Canal data are useful, but there are plenty of other indicators out there that are just unreliable or overrated.

We rounded up seven heralded economic indicators that have drawn criticism from the experts. They are the market-moving reports that see huge revisions, use questionable data, or are just flat out misunderstood.

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