Two articles in the Times today about Steven A. Cohen and his hedge fund offer differing accounts of how much money in the fund is Mr. Cohen's. One article, by Ben Protess and Peter Lattman, begins on the front page, reports, "Of the roughly $15 billion that SAC managed at the beginning of the year, about $8 billion is Mr. Cohen's own money." A second article, by Floyd Norris, reports, "About $9 billion of what is left of SAC's assets belongs to Mr. Cohen."
So which is it, $8 billion or $9 billion? The amount surely fluctuates over time. Neither Times article cites a source for the information. But it doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the accuracy in the Times' reporting if on the same day two different Times articles are offering estimates of Mr. Cohen's fortune that differ by $1 billion.