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GROWTH!!!
What? Nooo, the economy didn't contract in the 4th quarter, like reported. Our math guys redid the numbers and POOF! Growth!!
U.S. economy grew 0.1% in fourth quarter
By Jeffry Bartash WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. economy grew in the fourth quarter - but just barely - instead of contracting for the first time in three and a half years, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The U.S. expanded at a 0.1% annual rate in the last three months of 2012, better than the initially reported 0.1% drop but well below the third quarter's 3.1% pace. Stronger residential construction and an improvement in net exports pushed growth into positive territory. They offset a bigger decline in government spending than previously suggested as well as a sharper deceleration in the buildup of business inventories. Construction spending on new homes was revised up to a 17.5% increase from 15.3%. Exports fell a revised 3.9% instead of 5.7%, while imports dropped a sharper 4.5% vs. an initially reported 3.2% decline. Consumer spending was revised down a tick to 2.1%, while government spending dropped 6.9% instead of 6.6% as originally reported. Business inventories, meanwhile, grew a scant $12 billion in the fourth quarter after previous advances of $60.3 billion in the third quarter and $41.4 billion in the second. The slower pace of inventory growth subtracted 1.6 percentage points from fourth-quarter GDP. Lower government spending chopped 1.4 percentage points off GDP. Also, the government trimmed the increase in personal income in the fourth quarter to a 6.2% gain from 6.8% previously. Inflation as measured by the PCE index rose at a subdued 1.5% rate, or by 0.9% excluding food and energy. The government revises the original GDP report twice to incorporate fresh data not available for the preliminary reading. A third and final reading will come out next month.
What? Nooo, the economy didn't contract in the 4th quarter, like reported. Our math guys redid the numbers and POOF! Growth!!
U.S. economy grew 0.1% in fourth quarter
By Jeffry Bartash WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. economy grew in the fourth quarter - but just barely - instead of contracting for the first time in three and a half years, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The U.S. expanded at a 0.1% annual rate in the last three months of 2012, better than the initially reported 0.1% drop but well below the third quarter's 3.1% pace. Stronger residential construction and an improvement in net exports pushed growth into positive territory. They offset a bigger decline in government spending than previously suggested as well as a sharper deceleration in the buildup of business inventories. Construction spending on new homes was revised up to a 17.5% increase from 15.3%. Exports fell a revised 3.9% instead of 5.7%, while imports dropped a sharper 4.5% vs. an initially reported 3.2% decline. Consumer spending was revised down a tick to 2.1%, while government spending dropped 6.9% instead of 6.6% as originally reported. Business inventories, meanwhile, grew a scant $12 billion in the fourth quarter after previous advances of $60.3 billion in the third quarter and $41.4 billion in the second. The slower pace of inventory growth subtracted 1.6 percentage points from fourth-quarter GDP. Lower government spending chopped 1.4 percentage points off GDP. Also, the government trimmed the increase in personal income in the fourth quarter to a 6.2% gain from 6.8% previously. Inflation as measured by the PCE index rose at a subdued 1.5% rate, or by 0.9% excluding food and energy. The government revises the original GDP report twice to incorporate fresh data not available for the preliminary reading. A third and final reading will come out next month.
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