As expected, BEA’s second stab at GDP growth for the second quarter was even less inspiring than the first. Headline growth was a tepid 1.6%, down from the 2.4% previously reported. Consumer spending and business spending on equipment and software were actually stronger than earlier estimates, but business structures, inventories, and exports all weakened, while [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Data’
Further Signs of a Slowdown
Posted in Data, Economy, Macroeconomics, tagged Macroeconomics, GDP, Data, Economy on August 27, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
“Tracking” the Economy
Posted in Data, Economy, Macroeconomics, tagged Data, Economy, Macroeconomics on August 9, 2010 | 1 Comment »
The fine folks at the Association of American Railroads are out with their latest edition of Rail Time Indicators. Total traffic (carloads plus intermodal) in July was about 11% higher than the dismal levels of a year ago, but remains about 10% below earlier years: The rebound has been weaker in carloads (think bulk materials [...]
We’re Still #1 (Unfortunately)
Posted in Economy, Health, Macroeconomics, tagged Data, GDP, Macroeconomics, Recession on August 2, 2010 | 2 Comments »
The Bureau of Economic Analysis rewrote history on Friday. Along with GDP data for the second quarter, BEA also published revisions to its GDP estimates since the start of 2007. Bottom line: The recession was worse than originally thought. The economy contracted by 4.1% from peak to trough (Q2 2008 to Q2 2009), up from [...]
A Silver Lining in Second Quarter GDP?
Posted in Data, Economy, Macroeconomics, tagged Data, Economy, GDP, Macroeconomics on August 1, 2010 | 9 Comments »
Last Friday the Bureau of Economic Analysis released its first look at GDP growth in the second quarter. BEA estimates that the economy grew at a moderate 2.4% annual pace in the quarter, notably slower than the 3.7% pace in the first quarter and the 5.0% pace in the fourth quarter of 2009 (both those [...]
Consumer Spending is 60% of the Economy, not 70%
Posted in Data, Economy, Macroeconomics, tagged Consumers, Data, Economy, GDP, Macroeconomics on June 25, 2010 | 11 Comments »
Early Friday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis released its third look at economic growth in the first quarter. The results were disappointing: BEA now estimates that Q1 growth was only 2.7%, down from the prior estimate of 3.0%. A key reason: consumer spending was weaker than previously thought. As I noted in May, the monthly [...]
Consumer Spending is Not 70% of the Economy
Posted in Data, Economy, Macroeconomics, tagged Consumers, Data, Economy, GDP, Macroeconomics on May 27, 2010 | 8 Comments »
Journalists, commentators, and economists often say that consumer spending makes up 70% of the U.S. economy. Indeed, it’s easy to find several examples of that claim in today’s coverage of the latest GDP data (e.g., here). And, full confession, I’ve used that phrase a few times myself. There’s just one problem with the 70% claim: it’s [...]
Energy Use and Waste in the United States
Posted in Data, Energy, tagged Data, Energy on May 1, 2010 | 1 Comment »
The latest Technology Review has a great information graphic showing the sources and uses of energy in the United States. The most important take-away? That almost 45% of energy input is lost as waste heat. And, of course, that almost 85% of energy inputs come from oil, natural gas, and coal.
Rail Traffic Up in March
Posted in Data, Economy, Macroeconomics, tagged Data, Ec, Macroeconomics on April 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The Association of American Railroads publishes an excellent monthly compendium of economic data called Rail Time Indicators. I’ve been meaning to mention it for months. The latest edition reports another sign of economic recovery: March freight rail traffic recorded its first year-over-year gain in almost two years: A second chart shows just how much freight [...]
Inventories Still the Growth Story in Q4
Posted in Data, Economy, Macroeconomics, tagged Data, GDP, Macroeconomics on March 26, 2010 | 4 Comments »
The Bureau of Economic Analysis has released its third look at the economy in the fourth quarter of 2009. The economy grew rapidly in the quarter, but slightly less than previously reported: the new estimate is a 5.6% pace of real GDP growth vs. 5.9% in the prior estimate. As usual, I think the best [...]
Google’s Public Data: Much Improved
Posted in Data, Internet, tagged Data, Google, unemployment, Visualization on March 11, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Google recently released some major improvements in its public data efforts. If you click on over to Public Data, you will find a much broader range of data sets including economic information from the OECD and World Bank, key economic statistics for the United States, and some education statistics for California. Google has also included [...]
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Recent Posts
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