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The Spectacle Blog
So much for the so-called recovery:
The economy unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter, suffering its first decline since the recession ended more than three years ago as businesses scaled back on restocking and government spending plunged.
Gross domestic product fell at a 0.1 percent annual rate after growing at a 3.1 percent clip in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.
That was the worst performance since the second quarter of 2009 and showed the economy entering the new year with no momentum, but economists cautioned against reading too much into the decline in output.
That’s an enormous drop, especially considering GDP grew by 3.1%, 1.3%, 2%, and 4.1% in the last four quarters respectively. Economists may be cautious but, as Reuters later notes, the economists it surveyed predicted continued growth of around 1.1%. None of them saw this coming.
CNNMoney is blaming defense cuts. Forbes notes that consumer spending was strong, even while GDP took a tumble.
The Spectacle Blog will be weighing in on this throughout the day. On a separate note, our own Luca Gattoni-Celli is attending the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence, where Wayne LaPierre of the NRA is testifying, and will be keeping us posted.
Lots of news today. Stay tuned.
View all comments (8) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Matt Purple
http://spectator.org/blog/2013/01/30/economy-shrinks-for-the-first
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Bob Grant| 1.30.13 @ 10:30AM
Wow,
I'm shocked....SHOCKED!
Who knew if a sitting president spent his entire reelection campaign denigrating and trashing the private sector, along with waging class warfare, and thus winning on that message, the result would be for private enterprise to shrink.
obama has no excuses. He should simply say: "YOU voted for this"
Who's to be despised more: obama or the majority of the electorate?
Maxwell| 1.30.13 @ 10:48AM
The wife & I are on strike! We ain't buying nuffin! Food & basics are all that comes into the house now.
RCV| 1.30.13 @ 12:51PM
There goes the economy!
Maxwell| 1.30.13 @ 2:04PM
RCV, you are good! On another, note I did read that Winchester Ammo (Olin Co.) reported that their orders are now backlogged 9 months. That is, the backlog as of this past December was 28 mil., now it is 290 mil. The one part of the economy, guns & ammo, is doing fine! See, Barry is doing find on jobs saved & created!
Pecos Pete| 1.30.13 @ 10:49AM
Interesting that the GDP "surprisingly" declines dramatically after the election of King O. One has to wonder if the statistics were gamed before the election?
Nah. The feds wouldn't lie. Or would they?
RCV| 1.30.13 @ 12:50PM
Well, then why wouldn't they have lied on that quarter's statistics, too?
Pecos Pete| 1.30.13 @ 2:18PM
RCV: That's the point, in order to make the economy look better than the actual they gamed the quarterly statistics. But, chickens will come home to roost, thus the 4th quarter results. Sort of like the "surprising and unexpected" changes to the unemployment statistics.
WB| 1.30.13 @ 11:36AM
Oh, well. A majority of the American people decided to reelect Hopeychange and his cronies. Now let 'em live with the consequences ....