The ADP report was that a huge 297, 000 new jobs were created in the private sector in December, triple the consensus estimate, and the largest monthly increase since ADP began keeping its numbers in 2000.

FORBES: Rally Looks Pooped As Stocks React Flaccidly To Fantastic Data

Regular readers will be thrilled that our old friend, the construction sector, is in the frame again - the sharp fall in output in this sector in December is very much an estimate, which some consider a little fishy.

BBC: Straws of hope from GDP

We estimate that Akamai will have close to 100 public sector customers by the end of 2010, and we expect this figure to exceed 130 by the end of our forecast period.

FORBES: Akamai Can Fatten Up On Government Work

For some, that is another reason to take this first estimate with an extra dose of salt: service sector output is especially hard to measure accurately, even without all these special factors being thrown into the mix.

BBC: A special recovery

Locals estimate some 70, 000 people were laid off in the private sector last year.

WSJ: Strife Is Closer to Home in Damascus

By its own estimate, about 30% of lending went to the shaky real-estate sector, mostly Bangkok housing.

CNN: When Guts Are Not Enough

Although the latest reading is above the preliminary "flash" estimate of 47.9, the sub-50 reading still means private-sector output in the 17-nation currency bloc contracted in December.

WSJ: European Stocks Decline

We currently forecast that Cisco will maintain its dominant market share in excess of 70% for the routing and switching businesses, but if it loses 5% share in each of these businesses due to its higher exposure to the public sector, this would translate to around 4%-5% downside to our lowered price estimate.

FORBES: Cisco Is A $24 Stock If John Chambers Hangs On To Government Biz