US economy not as bad in 1st quarter, paving way for rebound

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy contracted in the first three months of the year, just not as much as previously estimated. More recent data show that the weakness was largely temporary, with a rebound in the works for the April-June quarter.

The economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, shrank at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.2 percent from January through March, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That's better than last month's estimate of a 0.7 percent decrease.

Harsh winter weather slowed spending by keeping consumers away from shopping malls and auto dealerships. The trade deficit ballooned, slicing growth by the most since 1985 as exports fell and imports rose.

Yet consumers stepped up their spending in May, and home sales are climbing — signs that the economy is back on track. In addition, many of the headwinds the economy faced in the first quarter — from an increase in the dollar's value to spending cutbacks by oil drillers — are fading.

FULL story at link.



In this Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015, photo, carpenter Joe Tominc cuts wood for a post on a new construction home in Pepper Pike, Ohio. The Commerce Department issues its last of three estimates of how the U.S. economy performed in the January-March quarter on Wednesday, June 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150624/us--economy-gdp-cd39a061c5.html

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. I love how we get conditioned to mediocrity and disappointment - "not as bad"

[kelliekat44]

2. The lie won't last for ever. The economy has not been as bad as they say for over three years.

EXCEPT for the wealth gap and wages...people have been buying like crazy. The malls, restaurants, gun shows, car shows, sports events, cruise ships, vacation spots, hotels, Las Vegas, has been doing business as usual. I'm not saying the economy is as good as it should be but it is not as bad as folks would have you believe...they even deceive themselves as they are out and about shopping like it was Christmas.

Housing has a way to go and wages have a long way to go and job creation of good paying jobs is not what it once was but compared to other countries and compared to where we were in 2010, things look much, much better.

[MannyGoldstein]

3. I can haz green shootz? nt

[sendero]

4. More rah rah bullshit..

.... for the economically ignorant. The economy IS that bad and it will remain so for the foreseeable future.

[Fred Sanders]

5. More wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth by some folks over this is certain... Much good news; some folks just gotta have The Sad.

[geek tragedy]

6. Blind rage is not very compelling in terms of advancing an argument

regarding economics.

Some people desperately want the news to be bad.

[Fred Sanders]

8. Republicans desperately want the economic news to be bad....why do any Democrats agree?

[Kip Humphrey]

7. So, economic contraction, an indicator of recession, is still with us. As the sheep being led to

slaughter said, "This isn't so baaaaaad."

[Fred Sanders]

9. "Recession" has a well known economic science definition...and one quarter of miminal contraction

is not it.

Going to have to go to another thread to pretend to complain about the lack of perfection of Obama.

[Kip Humphrey]

10. Sorry to be 6 days premature. However, Obama? Why are you bashing Obama???

[Fred Sanders]

11. Did not understand the post saying the second quarter will be like all the others under Obama, did you?

Give it up..there is no "recession" as much as one appears to favor one...that is the puzzling part.

[Kip Humphrey]

13. Allow me to explain...

You clearly adhere to the veracity of the current-day published government numbers on the economy, and good for you, you are in good company. I, on the other hand (in my cynicism of old age), remember the 6 times since the olden days of the '60s that the federal government revised it's economic algorithms in the name of improved accuracy even while all instances improved the upside and minimized the downside. I therefore interpret current economic indicators when minimally positive as entirely negative. Silly me, I know, but then I still count semi-tractor trailers on the road as a primary indicator of domestic economic activity.

[Psephos]

12. Orwell would be proud. n/t