GDP Update

A strong 2014Q2 GDP report came out today, registering in at 4% annualized real GDP growth. This is good news and could mean that soon Americans will have more means for reducing debt burdens, but it is worth looking at it in the context of the full recovery. Much of the recovery data was also …

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Terrible Recovery

A month ago, we compared the recovery from the Great Recession to the recovery after every recession since 1950. It looked pretty bad. Real GDP growth for 2014q1 was revised downward today to -3.0% on an annualized basis. Yes, our reading of Table 1.1.3 of NIPA shows -3.0%, not -2.9%. Here is real GDP indexed to the …

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Spending Worries?

Census retail sales for May came out today, and they missed the consensus forecast slightly on the downside. But there is another pattern that may be more concerning. Let’s take a closer look at what has been going on with household spending. First, new auto purchases have been an important driver of household spending for …

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Book Related Links

Sorry we’ve been busy with the book, but will get back to posting soon. Here are some book-related links in case you’ve missed them: New York Times: The Case Against the Bernanke-Obama Financial Rescue Economist Free Exchange: The Opposite of Insurance Paul Krugman (NYT): Springtime for Bankers Book Interview on RT Boom/Bust Washington Post: Why Tim …

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A European House of Debt

The end of 2011 and early 2012 was one of the most stressful periods in modern European history. Even the otherwise composed German chancellor Angela Merkel was brought to tears. At issue was the very survival of European Union which had once again gone into a recession, and financial markets were seriously doubting the viability of the …

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