Everyone will lie to you, but money won’t

Everyone will lie to you. Money won’t. Why do key indicators in primary data matter? Because as soon as they’re released, they move market prices.

Secondary data is what you see every day—information passed along from other people. Those are analyses and judgments offered by various interested parties. If they want to bull a stock, they’ll cite one set of figures; if they want to bear it, they’ll cite another.

Even with accurate data, selectively quoting it within limits can shape expectations. After years of studying Chinese language and writing argumentative essays, everyone should know that using the same examples can lead to completely different conclusions. That’s how primary data gets wielded.