reuters staffers drinking kool-aid

i like to read reuters quite a bit, mostly because it's a more global and non-american perspective than the likes of the associated press. a non-american perspective, of course, keeps the journalism a little more neutral regarding american interests such as our wars, economies, and elections.

however, i saw a couple of items in there today that made me wince at how completely out of touch they seemed:

first: Goldman's Cohen: Mild Recession at Worst.

"I think it's fair to say it will not be as deep a recession, if it is a recession, as many people had feared not that long ago. There certainly is not a black hole developing in the U.S. economy," Cohen said. "Also, it is entirely possible we will not have a single quarter of negative GDP."

While there is little inflation pressure from wages, she said, commodity prices are a "complicating factor." She said the United States is importing commodity price inflation from overseas.

does anybody believe people when they say this anymore? or does this just strike you as pedantic number-crunching nonsense? a recession, by any other name, still smells like poverty. so what if we're not having negative gdp growth? she says it herself...commodity prices are a 'complicating factor.'

people die of 'complications' in hospitals all the damn time. that's all i'm saying.

second item: Gasoline to peak at $4.15/gallon in August.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. gasoline prices will continue to march to record highs this summer before peaking at $4.15 per gallon in August, the Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday.

awesome, right?
oops! there's a caveat:

Last month, the EIA projected gasoline prices would peak in June at $3.73 per gallon of regular grade fuel.

so if i'm to understand this correctly - last month these guys completely screwed the pooch in their economic predictions, so as a consequence, reuters is going to credit their prediction in a headline like it's an immutable truth. great.

how is that acceptable journalism?