Congratulations America! U.S. National Debt exceeds $14 trillion!

US consumers help boost third-quarter growth
The US Economy grew a modest two percent in the Third Quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday, a sign the recovery is slowly trundling onward thanks to Consumer Spending. The world's largest Economy showed a few more signs of life in the July-September period, after gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed to 1.7 percent in the Second Quarter from 3.7 percent in the first. But the Economic expansion was still not fast enough to instill confidence that better times are just around the co...

Most Americans Say the Recession Isn't Over Yet
Economists may say the most recent Recession ended about 16 months ago, but most people aren't buying it. About three out of four Americans say the U.S. is still in a Recession, with Republicans and women slightly more pessimistic about the U.S. economy than Democrats and men, according to a recent AOL/Poll Position survey. About 81% percent of Republicans believe the U.S. remains mired in economic stagnancy, compared to about 60% of Democrats, according to a survey of almost 1,100 U.S. adults...

U.S. GDP Up 2.0% in the 3rd Quarter, Despite Housing Contraction
Although the U.S. recovery felt like it may have been stalling for some of the Third Quarter, The Economy's growth was actually stronger than it was in the Second Quarter. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a 2.0% pace during the three months ending in September 2010, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That nearly matches Economist estimates of 2.1% growth and beats the Second Quarter's 1.7% pace. Breaking down the numbers shows progress in many Sectors of The Economy. Today's repor...

Third-Quarter GDP Rose to 2% on Consumer Spending
The U.S. economy registered a Growth Rate of 2% in the Third Quarter, as Consumer Spending increased at its best pace in about four years -- providing some hope that it's capable of helping maintain the expansion. The report was in line with Economists' expectations. Consumer Spending increased at a 2.6% annual pace in the Quarter -- its fastest pace since the Fourth Quarter of 2006, and up from 2.2% in the Second Quarter. A Bloomberg survey had forecast Third-quarter GDP to increase 2%, after...

Spending up a bit, but jobs outlook so-so
The last read on The Economy before the Midterm Elections finds Americans are Spending a little more, but The Economy isn't growing fast enough to bring down high Unemployment. The Economy expanded at a 2% annual Rate in the July-to-September Quarter, the Commerce Department said yesterday. It marked an improvement from the feeble 1.7% growth during April through June. Consumers helped boost last quarter's growth with a 2.6% hike in Spending, better than the 2.2% Rate in the earlier quarter. B...

Spending up a bit, but jobs outlook so-so
The last read on The Economy before the Midterm Elections finds Americans are Spending a little more, but The Economy isn't growing fast enough to bring down high Unemployment. The Economy expanded at a 2% annual Rate in the July-to-September Quarter, the Commerce Department said yesterday. It marked an improvement from the feeble 1.7% growth during April through June. Consumers helped boost last quarter's growth with a 2.6% hike in Spending, better than the 2.2% Rate in the earlier quarter. B...

Economy grew 2 percent last quarter
A cheery  Bloomberg News report says household Spending increased by 2.6 percent --the best quarter since mid-2009-- and some Retailers are confident that the trend will continue through December. But while businesses are picking up steam, reports suggest that Consumers are less optimistic. Although the numbers are a slight improvement from earlier months, Economists agree that they're not nearly strong enough to offset high Unemployment . Additionally, this is just the first of three gover...

Business Cycle Dating Committee, National Bureau of Economic Research
In determining that a trough occurred in June 2009, the committee did not conclude that economic conditions since that month have been favorable or that The Economy has returned to operating at normal capacity. Rather, the committee determined only that the Recession ended and a recovery began in that month. A Recession is a period of falling economic activity spread across The Economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real Income, Employment, industrial production, ...

Congressional Research Service: The Bush Tax Cuts and the Economy
The Bush Tax Cuts and The Economy Thomas L. Hungerford Specialist in Public Finance October 27, 2010 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R41393 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress A series of Tax Cuts were enacted early in the George W. Bush Administration by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA; P.L. 107-16) and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA; P.L. 108-27). These Tax cuts, w...

GDP Growth Numbers for the Third Quarter? Meh.
GDP grew at a 2 percent annualized rate in the Second Quarter, which confirms two things: The Economy is still in the dumps, and it won’t be getting much better any time soon. The numbers were in line with estimates, and they’re good news in that they’re higher than the Second Quarter’s 1.7 percent rate. But it’s still far too slow to offer much hope to the unemployed. The Economic Policy Institute’s Josh Bevins argued back in April that three years of growth...

Economy grew at modest 2 percent rate in third quarter
The Economy grew at a modest 2 percent Rate in the Third Quarter, not enough to dramatically lower Unemployment.  In the last major bit of Economic news before a Midterm Election dominated by concerns about The Economy, the Commerce Department reported gross domestic product grew at a 2 percent annual Rate on increased Consumer Spending.  Democrats hailed the news as evidence that their actions have helped The Economy, while Republicans criticized the sluggish Growth.  "As a result of actio

Real GDP Grows at 2 Percent in the Third Quarter
I just posted this at MoneyWatch: The BEA reports its advanced estimate for GDP in the Third Quarter: Real gross domestic product ... increased at an annual rate of 2.0 percent in the Third Quarter of 2010, (that is, from the Second Quarter to the Third Quarter), according to the "advance" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the Second quarter, real GDP increased 1.7 percent Calculated Risk notes "a few key numbers": "The change in real private in...

The long road back
FIRST, the good news. America's Economy grew in the Third Quarter of 2010, the fifth consecutive Quarter of expansion. Real GDP grew at an estimated 2.0% annual pace from July to September, up from the 1.7% pace recorded in the Second Quarter. Growth was largely attributable to continued acceleration in personal consumption expenditures. Personal spending has grown at a faster pace in each of the last three Quarters. Things could certainly be worse. But they could also be substantially better....

GDP Picture: A long, slow climb out of the recession
The Commerce Department reported today that gross domestic product (or GDP, the widest measure of Economic activity, equal to the final value of goods and services produced in the United States) rose at an annualized Rate of 2.0% in the Third Quarter of 2010, up slightly from a 1.7% annualized increase in the previous Quarter. Personal consumption expenditures contributed 1.8 percentage points to this Quarter’s Growth, while changes in inventories contributed another 1.4 percentage point...

Dan Dorfman: Signs of a Nice Jobs Surprise
Hey, good news. Just maybe we're seeing some light at the end of the Jobs tunnel. Come Friday, we'll get the October employment numbers which numerous Economists predict will show a paltry gain of between 25,000 and 75,000 new Private Sector jobs. Too low, says Economist Madeline Schnapp, a consistent and accurate bear on employment trends over the past year. Now, though, she has suddenly shifted gears over the near term, citing such job-hiring stimulants as a lot of home refinancing, brisk h...

Economy Grows at Slightly Faster Pace in Q3
WASHINGTON — The Economy grew slightly faster last summer as Americans spent a little more freely. Yet it remains too weak to reduce high Unemployment just as Democrats face deep losses in Tuesday's Elections. The Commerce Department said Friday that The Economy expanded at a 2 percent annual Rate in the July-September Quarter. It marked an improvement from the feeble 1.7 percent Growth in the April-June Quarter. Consumers helped boost last quarter's Economic Growth with 2.6 percent grow...

Slow Growth
The U.S. economy grew by 2 percent during the Third Quarter of 2010 - a modest improvement over revised Second Quarter numbers but nowhere near the level of growth needed to pull the country out of its ongoing economic malaise. And certainly nowhere near the level of growth needed to reduce the high Unemployment levels that continue to suck the oxygen out of the promised “recovery.” The preliminary gross domestic product (GDP) data released Friday by the U.S. Department of Comm...

Mexico estimates economy grew by 5 percent in third quarter, inflation stays at 3.7 percent
Mexico City — Mexico's Treasury Department says preliminary figures show the country's economy grew by about 5 percent in the Third Quarter. That was down from a 7.6-percent GDP expansion in the Second Quarter. Inflation remained about the same at 3.70 on an annualized basis at the end of September. Economic Growth was helped by a 41 percent increase in average crude prices in the Third Quarter, as compared to the same Quarter of 2009. That allowed total oil income to increase by 4.9 pe...

Mexico estimates economy grew by 5 percent in third quarter, inflation stays at 3.7 percent
Mexico City — Mexico's Treasury Department says preliminary figures show the country's economy grew by about 5 percent in the Third Quarter. That was down from a 7.6-percent GDP expansion in the Second Quarter. Inflation remained about the same at 3.70 on an annualized basis at the end of September. Economic Growth was helped by a 41 percent increase in average crude prices in the Third Quarter, as compared to the same Quarter of 2009. That allowed total oil income to increase by 4.9 pe...

The final nail in the Democrats coffin
On the eve of the Midterm Elections, a Third-quarter GDP report showing a meager 2 percent growth Rate is the final nail in the Obama Democrats’ political coffin. The Economic nails slowly have been hammered into that coffin all Summer and fall. A spate of subpar Economic statistics has shown the failure of the fiscal-stimulus spending program. And myriad tax and regulatory threats produced by new government policies have created a massive uncertainty overhang and a dismal Jobs outlook. Am...

Zombie Households
Thursday’s Third Quarter GDP release provides a ton of fodder for the data dorks among us. There will be more to follow on this in the October monthly commentary, but today we’ll look at just one of the stand-out drivers of GDP in Q3: private residential investment. The chart below shows its astounding rebound, which added a full 0.53% to the 3.5% GDP number. The percentage change becomes less impressive when viewed in the context of The Dollar level of activity, but it also starts t...

Blue Devils roll up big lead, pound Wildcats
OGDENSBURG — The difference between threats and scores provided a major difference on the scoreboard as Ogdensburg Free Academy raced out to a big halftime lead against Gouverneur en route to a 45-0 victory in Friday night's Class B semifinal Game of the Section 10/7 Football Championships. Wildcats Quarterback Shane Gould had two potential touchdown passes dropped by his receivers while Devils QB Jared Morrow completed 9-of-14 passes in the First half, threw for two touchdowns and r...

Linsky propels No. 1 Potsdam
POTSDAM — Zac Linsky rushed for 197 yards on 23 carries and scored two touchdowns to lead top-seeded Potsdam to a 40-14 win over No. 4 Canton in a Section 10/7 Class A football semifinal Friday night. The Sandstoners (8-1) will host either No. 2 Malone or No. 3 Massena in the Championship Game next weekend. Linsky opened the scoring for Potsdam with a 56-yard run in the First Quarter. He added a 1-yard run in the Third Quarter. John Coleman scored on a 1-yard run in the Second Quarter an...

Investment Contribution to GDP: Leading and Lagging Sectors
by CalculatedRisk on 10/30/2010 12:30:00 PM By request, the following graph is an update to: The Investment Slump in Q2 2009 The following graph shows the rolling 4 quarter contribution to GDP from residential investment, equipment and software, and nonresidential structures. This is important to follow because residential investment tends to lead The Economy, equipment and software is generally coincident, and nonresidential structure investment trails The Economy. For the following graph, r...

Pfizer 3Q report to focus on Wyeth integration, recent deals, promising experimental drugs
NEW YORK — Pfizer Inc., the world's biggest drug maker by revenue, should focus on some recent deals, new research data and its integration of Wyeth, which it bought a year ago, when it reports its Third-quarter results before the Stock Market opens Tuesday. WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Pfizer executives likely will discuss some promising research results just released or about to come out. That includes data on crizotinib for nonsmall-cell Lung Cancer, which comprises about 85 percent of Lung ca...