The easy bit to understand is the claimant count, as that's computerised and can be measured to the nearest individual claimant.

BBC: No longer the poor relation

We were able to kind of get that pitch count up just a little bit to get into their bullpen in the sixth.

WSJ: Byrd's single in 9th lifts Mets over Marlins 4-3

In a small bit of positive news, the firm reports that its subscriber count is up 35-percent year-over-year, which now totals 75 million subscribers.

ENGADGET: RIM reports Q3 2011 earnings: $5.2b revenue, $265m net income and 14.1 million handsets shipped

Of course its all very well thought through and based on real data, and there are caveats and to-be-sure paragraphs in each of the stories and they do hunt up a couple folks to balance things out a bit, blah, blah, blah, but the headlines are what count.

FORBES: NYT Sends Buy Signals on Real Estate and Stocks

"When the water drops a bit more, we'll be better able to do an assessment, but you can count on a very significant crop loss this year, " he says.

NPR: Relief Operations Under Way In Devastated Haiti

Brian Cosgrove, creator of Danger Mouse and Count Duckula, told the Today programme's Sarah Montague that he was "a little bit surprised" that Paddington Bear won the prize and that one of the current shows would have been in people's minds.

BBC: 'Warm and cosy' British animation