US Growth Slows: Another Case Of "It Coulda' Been Worse!"
The government revised Q2 economic growth DOWN to and annualized rate of 1.6% from 2.4% and that's good news? Yes friends, that's the world in which we live--when a nasty number is seen as a positive.
It's not that investors have suddenly donned their 2007 rose-colored glasses, but many were predicting a lower number--closer to 1.3%. Additionally, corporate profits did see a 4.6% increase in Q2, which is not quite as stellar as the 10.5% in Q1, but certainly respectable.
The reduction in GDP resulted from the largest increase in imports in 26 years. Imports surged by 32.4% while exports increased by only 9.1%. On the positive side, after stripping out inventories and trade, the so-called growth rate of final sales to domestic purchasers was revised higher -- to 4.3%, from 4.1%.
Still, here in the real world, these slight improvements are meaningless to people. Americans still feel rotten about the economy and without improvements in jobs, wages or housing, that condition will likely persist. Not even Helicopter Ben Bernanke can make it better right now...
Image by Flickr User Monica's Dad, CC 2.0
