Posted on 09/30/2009 4:44:08 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
WASHINGTON — The economy shrank less than expected in the second quarter as businesses and consumers trimmed their spending at a slower pace, buttressing beliefs that the economy is now growing.
The 0.7 percent dip in gross domestic product for the April-June quarter follows the 6.4 percent annualized drop in the first three months of this year, the worst slide in nearly three decades. In the final quarter of last year, the economy sank at a rate of 5.4 percent
The new reading on second-quarter GDP, reported by the Commerce Department on Wednesday, shows the economy shrinking less than the 1 percent pace previously estimated. It also was better than the annualized 1.1 percent drop that economists were predicting.
The final revision of second-quarter GDP comes on the last day of the third quarter, in which many analysts predict the economy started growing again at a pace of about 3 percent.
"Growth should be solidly positive," said Mark Vitner, economist at Wells Fargo Securities.
Gross domestic product measures the value of all goods and services — from machines to manicures — produced in the U.S. It is the best estimate of the nation's economic health.
A main reason for the second-quarter upgrade: businesses didn't cut back spending on equipment and software nearly as deeply as the government had thought. Consumers also didn't trim their spending as much.
But on Wall Street, a surprise drop in the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index, considered a precursor to the national Institute for Supply Management index to be released on Thursday, sent stocks reeling. The Dow Jones industrial average lost more than 80 points in midday trading, and broader indices also fell.
Many analysts predict the economy started growing again in the July-September quarter, due partly to President Barack Obama's $787 billion stimulus package.....
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There's a new spin on the "unexpected" meme.
All the dipping and rising were doing has me a bit dizzy...
Give it a year or three...and you’ll be passed out!
That’s like getting the flu instead of the pig flu.
Who's expectations are we referring to for a reference point?
Are the statistics really this mixed? Or, are some of the statistics being altered?
“Many analysts predict the economy started growing again in the July-September quarter, due partly to President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package.....”
Horseshit
Agreed. We didn't see all this optimism when Bush was our President.
A word of point being over used these days and appropriately so.
In what world is “shrinking less” equivalent to growth?
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