Posted on 06/29/2006 10:35:16 AM PDT by Mikey_1962
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. economic growth leapt ahead at an upwardly revised 5.6 percent annual rate in the first quarter, helped by lower imports than first thought and generating strong corporate profits, the Commerce Department said Thursday.
The department pushed its estimate of first-quarter growth in gross domestic product up from 5.3 percent that it reported a month ago.
That slightly exceeded Wall Street economists' predictions for a 5.5 percent rate and meant the economy expanded at more than triple the 1.7 percent pace recorded in last year's fourth quarter. It was the strongest quarterly growth in 2-1/2 years, since a 7.2 percent rate in the third quarter of 2003.
The pace of economic growth is expected to moderate in coming quarters, partly because of some softening in the housing sector that analysts say will potentially have an impact on consumer spending, the key driver of U.S. economic performance.
Consumer spending in the first quarter advanced at a revised but still sizzling 5.1 percent rate rather than 5.2 percent estimated a month ago, far ahead of the 0.9 percent rate recorded in the fourth quarter.
The department said its main reason for revising first-quarter GDP upward was that imports were not as strong as it previously had calculated. Imports, which act as a drag on overall GDP, rose at a 10.7 percent annual rate in the first quarter rather than 12.8 percent.
Corporate profits also grew more strongly than the government previously thought, rising at a 13.8 percent annual rate after taxes instead of 8.8 percent it estimated a month ago. That matched the fourth quarter's rate of profits growth, which was the highest rate in four years.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
If not for the treasonous MSM, Bush's would be at 70% in the polls.
The great news and these statistics will not deter the Democrats from harping on how bad the economy is and how the 'working people' are suffering. It is part of liberals' DNA. The administration simply has to do a better job of touting the figures which are reality-based.
It is only bad news for the dnc if people know about it. Take a bow lame-scream-media, you are a paragon of omission, half truth (being generous), and the pursuit of socialism ......blech!
Consider the source...W just might be @ 70%--we'll never know
True, true ...
Say, how come we don't see stories about the federal budget deficit anymore? Is it because it's not all that large (relatively speaking of course)? It must be smaller than predicted or I'm sure we'd be hearing about it every day.
What makes me be a bit of an optimist for midterm elections is the economy. When will Republicans finally start touting the 3-year economic booming expansion? Security plus booming rconomy should equal victory....
The economy was much better under Clinton when he raised taxes. Tax raises are the way to create a robust economy, or at least this is what I hear from the left.
Of course, what they fail to mention is that Clinton inherited the Reagan economy and low tax rates. The fact that Clinton raised the rates some did not totally undo the Reagan economy.
According to the MSM polls, most people feel that Bush has done a terrible job with the economy. That is always the headline, not the reality.
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