GDP Report Too Optimistic?
0.1% may have been too good.
The economy is crawling, with first quarter GDP reportedly growing a meager 0.1%. But even that may be too optimistic, says MarketWatch: “The U.S. economy probably contracted in the first quarter for the first time in three years and only the second time since the Great Recession ended in mid-2009, new data suggest.” In fact, GDP possibly contracted 0.2% to 0.4%, largely thanks to the U.S. trade deficit. Then again, economists polled by MarketWatch predict growth of 3.5% in the second quarter. Time will tell.