Even if the figures are heavily distorted by short-term factors, they suggest the underlying state of the economy is flat, at best.

BBC: UK GDP: A nasty surprise and a puzzle

Their guarantees have distorted the lending market and helped push Germany's banking industry into its present sorry state.

ECONOMIST: A merger proposal is strangled at birth

"Unfortunately, what actually happened has now been dramatically distorted and misinterpreted and remarks that both Tito and I made after the police arrived reflect the state of shock that we were both in, " Jameson said Friday.

CNN: Jenna Jameson says she wants Tito Ortiz back