New releases and numbers are often not what they seem. Bad news is often designed to get you to sell so the big boys can pick up shares cheap, and good news is often designed to make you think things are great, when they are trying to sell. Last year when oil was at its peak, there was a lot of good "news" and analysis about how it was going to $200/barrel. Instead it fell as the big players sold to the dummies. If you really want to learn how to make consistent money, learn how to either ignore the news or sometimes read it as a contrarian indicator. News releases are often lies sold to the masses to get them to do the opposite of what they should be doing, so the big players can unwind large positions... just learn look at the chart and you'll be a lot better off.
Right on. For me, I'm just concerned with KNOWING what time certain numbs are being released so I can be flat (most of the time). And then, once news hits, I trade according to what I see. I don't even know the estimates or the actuals or any of that. I let the big players figure that out and then I'll hop aboard when they make up their minds