Posted on 11/30/2016 5:01:38 AM PST by expat_panama
The U.S. economy expanded at a 3.2% annual rate in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That's the strongest growth since the second quarter of 2014 and revised up slightly from the initial reading of a 2.9% gain.
Economists had expected a 3.1% revised reading.
Consumer spending rose at a 2.8% pace, faster than the initial reading of 2.1%. .
Separately, the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index shot up 8.5 points in November to 107.1, the highest since July 2007 and much better than views for a rise to 101. The reading, which reflects post-election sentiment, showed consumers are more upbeat about current and future conditions for business and jobs.
Together with the GDP data, the report bodes well for consumers' willingness to spend this holiday season.
Initial readings on holiday spending have been mixed. In-store sales over the Thanksgiving weekend fell particularly sharply, though that partly reflects a shift to online shopping and retailers offering deals throughout November and December.
Online holiday sales are booming, growing even stronger than expected. That should be good news for Amazon (AMZN), which has outstripped e-commerce growth in recent years. But Target (TGT), Best Buy (BBY), Wal-Mart (WMT) and other retailers are putting more effort than ever on online sales.
IBD'S TAKE: Stock markets have rallied on hopes for Trump's tax and spending plans, but here's why economists are wary of Trumpnomics...
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
WTF!
I just walked into the room and heard LiesMan on CNBC saying something about one of the briefings Trump still had to get was about the UFOs and aliens.
No one on the panel reacted. No laughs. Nothing.
WTF!
Consider that the Ronald Reagan boom fueled by tax cuts and defense spending started when interest rates and unemployment had nowhere to go but down, whereas Federal Reserve economists now think the U.S. is close to full employment and the 10-year Treasury yield sank to a historic low of 1.34% in July. In other words, rates have nowhere to go but up and the jobless rate may not be able to fall much without increasing inflation pressure.
While it's true that rates are long overdue to go up, the notion that Federal Reserve economists think we're close to full employment with over 94 million people out of the workforce tells you everything you need to know about the pathetic direction of the Fed during Obama's tenure.
I don’t think this is good. In essence, everyone has confidence so they are spending via taking on more debt. This only makes it worse. Bill Bonner may have been on to something, just a bit early.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJEZh9PKr8s
Also, with a debt fueled economy teetering on collapse, any rate increase could push it over the edge. And people spending now, via simply taking on more debt, is kinda nuts.
I’ve said to people that, because people buy a house payment, rather than a purchase price, the best time to buy a house is when interest rates are high. Prices are depressed and when rates do go down you can refinance. And the value of your home will also go up.
Taking on debt right now by buying a house at these rates almost guarantees bankruptcy in the future, unless you are willing to, when rates go up and prices go down, take a $200,000 hit on your house like so many did in 2008. But this time I think it will be MUCH worse.
On CNBC, Mark Zandi said this morning that Pres. Trump will be inheriting a “strong economy” from Obama. Actually, the US economy began tanking in Sept.-Oct. 2008 as McCain’s campaign collapsed and business sector realized that a Communist would win in Nov. Over 700,000 jobs were lost in Jan. ‘09 when Obama was inaugurated and the nation’s economy barely survived the next 8 years.
In the third quarter of this year, the Middle Class began believing that Trump could win and this sparked hope in the economy, and their confidence began to revive. It had NOTHING to do with Obama and the bogus economic reports that were blatantly false for eight years.
Re people taking on more debt, you may find this story interesting. Its about a trend of people trading in cars that they still owe a lot of money on and then rolling the negative equity into a new loan.
The strong economy is due to a Republican Congress. Watch the economy using Congress, not the Presidency. When the Democrats took over Congress in 2007, the economy tanked. It didn’t come back until the Republicans got Congress back.
Same with Clinton.
What, we MIGHT do better than 2% GDP annually for a change? I will believe it when I see it. Next year will be MUCH better. “Bigly” better!
just TRUMP making AMERICA great again....
hahahahahahahahaha
CONSUMER CONFIDENCE IS THE KEY TO THE AMERICAN ECONOMY.....
of course that is when we are not making war for profit....
And the tanking economy in 2007 was intentional so the Dems would guarantee a Dem win in 2008. There was no way, with the Media reporting only what the Dems wanted reported, that the masses were apprised of the truth of the collapse (and it has taken 8 years for the masses to awaken to the Media manipulation). And I am reminded of the Stock Market suffering in September, 2008, when SOMEONE (likely Soros) pulled $2 billion out. McCain suspended his campaign and went back to DC to ‘help’ in the crisis. Obama simply and ‘coolly’ said ‘they can call me if they need me’. He KNEW that it was a manipulation and wasn’t worried.......I believe many of the events that have shaped our recent history have been planned with malice toward the American people.
A strong industrial base is the key to the economy. No country ever imported, borrowed and spent its way to prosperity.
Hey! It’s not a car. It’s an investment! :-D
When you have debts, you owe others.
When you have investments, others owe you.
I know you seem to be very in tune with things - what's your read?
I agree with you, and am worried about what retribution for the election lies ahead. But am glad we will have Trump at the helm at least.
Bingo. Yet, the Media has reported all the ‘new funding’ (new TAXES)of Dem pet projects as ‘investments’ in this and that. The manipulation of words that the Dems and their Media have gotten away with is criminal.
The thing I have to keep reminding myself is that we're not hearing what the econ people say, we're only hearing from what the lib press says they say. It's like when libs tell me what they think Trump said and then they end up admitting they never really heard T say it, but that it was just some NYT (mis)quote.
The smart econ folks I know have good things and bad things to say about Trump, Obama, and all leaders. Example, here's a list of a few of the good things Obama's done:
- extended the '03 tax cuts
- said marriage is between one man and one woman
- cut import taxes
- said we need to bring together all the good from people of all parties
- sent more troops to Iraq and still has 'advisers' there.
I could go on and on but my life would have to depend on it.
I don’t believe anything coming out of any department in Obama’s administration. You never get facts, only propaganda and lies meant to mislead. This “news” is meant to plant the idea that whatever success Trump has will not be from what he does but from the idea that the economy was already recovering under Obama. Thats how the corrupt Democrats work. It is nothing more than that.
Bureaucrats are people and most are honest and some fudge and we're smart enough to tell which is which and why.
We keep hearing folks on the radio and these threads who say everything from the gov't is a lie but then when they get a hurricane warning, or say a heads up about an income tax refund --suddenly they believe it. Same w/ gov't econ stats. Think of all the times we hear people say that the unemployment rate's typical of how they're all lies, and we know that because of how the BLS says that a hundred million able bodied Americans are not employed.
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