Economy Contracted by 0.75% In the First Quarter

This must be due to the lingering effects of the Bush economy, now six and a half years in the past.

No wait, this must be due to the 2013 Republican Government Shutdown.

May 29, 2015 - BEA Reveals that 1st Quarter 2015 GDP Shrank at -0.75%:

In their second estimate of the US GDP for the first quarter of 2015, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported that the economy was contracting at a -0.75% annualized rate, down a full percent from the +0.25% estimated last month, and down sharply (-2.97%) from the +2.22% growth rate recorded for the prior quarter. And according to the "real final sales of domestic product" (BEA's very own "bottom line" for the economy), the economy shrank at more than a percent (-1.08%) during the quarter, down -3.40% from last quarter's +2.32%.

A look at the details provides little comfort....

The markets fell on the news, as well as some other bad economic news:

OTHER BAD DATA: Investors also had two other disappointing pieces of economic news to work through. A Chicago manufacturing survey fell to a reading of 46.2, well below the reading of 53 that economists were hoping for. Also a report on consumer sentiment for May fell to a six-month low.

This sounds like a perfect time for Obama to Pivot to Foreign Policy or whatever.

One more negative quarter and we're officially in recession.

Added [JohnE.]:

WH spin on negative GDP: ...the result of harsh winter weather, tepid foreign demand, and consumers saving windfall from lower oil prices.

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) May 29, 2015

posted by Ace at 01:01 PM

| Access Comments