Posted on 11/29/2006 5:38:03 AM PST by Lunatic Fringe
Breaking now, more to come
Pelosi's Fault! We need more taxes!
THAT is the best part.
WASHINGTON - Business growth slowed to a 2.2 percent pace in the late summer, a much better performance than anticipated and an encouraging sign that the housing slump hasn't significantly dragged down the economy.
The upgraded reading on gross domestic product, released by the
Commerce Department Wednesday, was considerably stronger than the 1.6 percent growth rate for the July-to-September quarter that had been estimated a month ago. That pace had been the worst in more than three years.
Gross domestic product measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States and is considered the best barometer of the country's economic fitness.
The new estimate, which was stronger than the 1.8 percent pace that economists had forecast, nevertheless marked the slowest pace of growth since the end of last year when the economy was reeling from the blows of the Gulf Coast hurricanes. The biggest drag on third-quarter growth: the cooldown in the once-sizzling housing sector.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061129/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy
I hope that people are taking notice of this. 2.2 GDP shows that the market is slowing down and it does not portend well for next year. The Fed has done it's part to strangle the economy.
I notice that the author of this spun a more optimistic story than we would have seen last month though.
A bit slow, but least it's not tanking completely.
Worst economy ever....
It may be pretty close to what the EU's doing right now.
But on the other hand, we're in a slow period and they are in a fast period.
I watched Bernanke's speech to the Italian-American Federation yesterday. It was typically non-committal. The message I got was a continuation of this growth rate into the first quarter, with some pickup in the spring.
"WOMEN AND MINORITIES HIT HARDEST"
I guess tax cuts worked in spite of high gas prices.
This is good, and actually portends well for a 2007 characterized by moderate growth and low inflation.
This probably isn't quite up to date, for example OECD now estimates Finland's growth to be 5%
http://tinyurl.com/yfq5cd
Austria 2.8
Belgium 2.7
Denmark 2.7
Finland 3.5
France 2.4
Germany 2.0
Greece 3.7
Ireland 5.8
Italy 1.5
Luxembourg 4.0
Netherlands 2.9
Portugal 1.2
Spain Gross 3.4
Sweden 4.0
United Kingdom 2.7
Is this the annualized number?
and yes, these figures are yearly, not Q3 like the one we are talking about here
Looks like OECD forecasts 3.3% Growth in U.S. and 2.6% in the euro zone.
3-3-5% is healthy. This current rate is a bit risky by my thinking. Any hiccup along thw away and we are going into stagnation or recession. A few outcomes here:
1) Dems decide that balancing the budget means reducing military spending in order to fund socialism. Bad idea
2) Talk of tax increases which makes Wall St. shudder and pushes us downward
3) No room to cut taxes to stimulate economic growth.
Ugh...
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