Pop open those champagne bottles, the economy (as measured by the GDP) grew at an annual rate of 7.2% in the third quarter, the best showing since 1984. Hooray!
Here's the WaPo AP Article and BEA's press release. These are the "advance" estimates--not a complete tally.
We had some signs that the figure would be this good. In September, the federal government "found" $20 billion in revenues that it wasn't expecting, especially considering the latest round of tax cuts. Based on already released components, most economists expected at least a 6% figure. However, the strong growth in exports and absence of growth in imports helped the number greatly.
But don't drink too much champagne yet! The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (the index that the Fed watches for signs of inflation) grew at a fast pace as well, indicating that it is likely that the Fed will raise short-term interest rates sometime soon. I'll go into more detail on this at a later date, because it's interesting to compare past business cycles to this one.
Drudge, in his normal but funny irreverance, makes a politcal economics argument by leading with the headline "BLAST OFF: U.S. Q3 GDP UP 7.2%, BEST IN 19 YEARS" with this picture.
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