IF YOU THINK IT’S EASY TO UNDERSTAND breaking economic news, consider the following lead in the Wall Street Journal: “Sales of existing homes remained robust in August, slipping just 0.5 percent from July.” Robust and slipping both? Well, yes. It seems that the slippage from July still left home sales 2 percent higher than last year at the same time. And that this increase from last August occurred despite the fact that mortgage rates have gone up a full percentage point, to 8 percent.

The difficulty of interpreting the signals flashed by economic data explains why Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan is held in such high regard. Somehow Greenspan has managed to process the reams of information he receives, separate the wheat from the chaff, and come up with answers that have helped keep the economy growing steadily, unemployment at low levels, and inflation at bay. Business Week said it best: “It really doesn’t get any better than this: first-half growth at 3.4 percent, the jobless rate close to a two-decade low, core inflation at a three-decade low, and the Dow headed toward 5900. Hey, let’s party.” Add the fact that inventories are at the lowest level ever recorded, and you have an outlook that is decidedly bright.