Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on TwitterBe a Facebook FanTumble us!

29 Sep 2011 10:50

tags

Biz: Here’s another good-sounding economic story … with a catch

  • 1.3% the increase in U.S. gross domestic product in the second quarter, based on updated final numbers
  • 0.3% the improvement in that number from the initial estimates from the April-to-June quarter source
  • » Such evocative language in the source story: But before you get too excited about those three-tenths of one percent, just keep in mind the text that AFP used here: “The better-than-expected figure is unlikely to have a major impact on confidence in the enfeebled US economy, but tints the backdrop in a slight less gloomy hue.”

29 Jul 2011 12:50

tags

Biz: GDP growth figures: Another crappy quarter of crappy results

  • 1.3% the rate of GDP growth the economy showed in its second quarter — which is pretty lame, by the way
  • 1.8% the projected rate economists projected in the second quarter; yeah, we missed that source
  • » One word — anemic. On top of all this drama, the rates for GDP growth in the first quarter was projected down to an even lower 0.4 percent growth. While this does not bode well for our recovery, it doesn’t mean we’ll necessarily have a double-dip. It just increases the chances of one.

22 Dec 2010 10:17

tags

Biz: Revised numbers: GDP improves handily, but not fast enough

  • 2.6% third-quarter boost; good, but not good enough source
  • » What is “good enough,” anyway?: We’ll leave this assessment to someone who knows a little more about banking. “Growth really needs to be closer to 4% for a couple of years to bring down the unemployment rate,” said Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo. So, in other words, we’re getting there, but this isn’t cooking with gas. This is the pilot light on the oven staying out for an extended period. The economy needs a spark.

30 Jul 2010 12:25

tags

Biz, U.S.: GDP crawl: The U.S. economy is growing, but at a very slow rate

  • 2.4% the increase in the GDP in the second quarter, slower than anticipated
  • 3.7% the increase in the GDP after the first quarter, higher than first reported source

06 Jun 2010 22:05

tags

Biz, U.S.: Real reason we should fear 2012: Our growing national debt

  • $13 trillion in total debt; it could outpace GDP by 2012 source

30 Apr 2010 09:24

tags

Biz: Consumers driving gross domestic product’s improvement

  • 3.2% the increase in gross domestic product this quarter – good, but smaller than expected
  • 2.55% of that growth came from
    consumer spending – the largest boost since 2006 source

29 Oct 2009 09:57

tags

Biz: That’s promising: The economy’s starting to grow again

  • 3.5% increase in 3Q gross domestic product; hooray! source
 

27 Aug 2009 11:08

tags

Biz, U.S.: The national GDP is down, but not as bad as experts feared

  • -1% decline in Gross Domestic Product in the second quarter
  • -1.5% expected size of the decline; guess we’re recovering source

13 Aug 2009 11:06

tags

Biz, World: Europe’s recession appears to be slowing down, too

  • -2.5% the decline in Europe’s gross domestic product in the first quarter; the recession hit hard
  • -0.1% the decline in Europe’s GDP in quarter two; time to do a happy dance source

25 Jun 2009 10:47

tags

Biz: Based on our GDP, the economy appears to be on the Atkins diet

  • -5.5% decline in GDP in the first quarter of ’09 source