AP Slips Up
I really don't know how this got past the editors at the AP. "Economy zips ahead at a 5.6 percent pace". It's almost like they couldn't figure out any fresh ways to spin this in a negative direction.
WASHINGTON - The economy sprang out of a year-end rut and zipped ahead in the opening quarter of this year at a 5.6 percent pace, the fastest in 2 1/2 years and even stronger than previously thought.
The new snapshot of gross domestic product for the January-to-March period exceeded the 5.3 percent growth rate estimated a month ago, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The upgraded reading — based on more complete information — matched economists' forecasts.
The stronger GDP figure mostly reflected an improvement in the country's trade deficit, which was much less of a drag than previously estimated.
Gross domestic product measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States and is considered the best barometer of the country's economic fitness.
On Wall Street, stocks got a lift from the good GDP news. The Dow Jones industrials gained 72 points and the Nasdaq was up 23 points in morning trading.
Oh, never mind, here's the spin. But weirdly, they stuck it toward the end. How soon until the rewrite?
Fresher barometers, however, suggest the economy is shifting into a lower gear in the current quarter.
In a separate report, the Labor Department said that new claims filed for unemployment benefits last week rose by 4,000 to 313,000 — a bit more than economists were expecting.
Economists predict that economic growth in the April-to-June quarter probably slowed to a pace of around 2.5 percent to 3 percent. High energy prices and a more moderate housing market will play roles in the expected slowdown in overall economic activity.
If that turns out to be the case, the economy will have registered a seesaw-like pattern of growth in the last few quarters.
By BubbaB, Thursday, 29 June , 2006 @ 2:50 pm
Apparently the spies we sent in to the AP are performing their job, by making the AP face the facts…
By Gaius, Thursday, 29 June , 2006 @ 2:53 pm
Oh, I wish.