Tuesday, February 2, 2010

THE US ECONOMY GREW IN THE 4TH QUARTER

Why didn’t that make the headlines? Apparently only bad news makes the headlines.

'Finally Some Good News: U.S. economy grows at 5.7% pace, fastest in six years'
(AP/Yahoo!) -- The AP writes that the U.S. economy "grew faster than expected at the end of last year" at a 5.7% annual growth rate in the fourth quarter, "the fastest pace since 2003." According to the story, "The Commerce Department report Friday is the strongest evidence to date that the worst recession since the 1930s ended last year." The AP notes that "the report provided an upbeat end to an otherwise dismal year" as the "nation's economy declined 2.4% in 2009, the largest drop since 1946" and "the first annual decline since 1991." See the article at
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Economy-likely-grew-faster-in-apf-3028347842.html?x=0&.v=9>


U.S. economy grew 4.6% in Q4, Wall Street analysts predict
The U.S. economy appears to be picking up steam faster than many experts had expected. A broad range of Wall Street analysts forecast that the economy grew an annualized 4.6% in the fourth quarter, more than double the third quarter's 2.2%. That would mark the strongest quarterly expansion since 2006. Some estimates run as high as 6% GDP expansion for the quarter. The Guardian (London) (1/29) , The Wall Street Journal (1/29) , Reuters (1/28)