No one is reading the fine print. Government spending went up 9.3% which ended up all in smoke in Afghanistan and it is counted as Growth in GDP
better read this part
Government Spending
Government spending surged at a 9.2 percent annual pace in the
fourth quarter, after rising at a 0.3 percent annual rate in the third
quarter. Military spending increased at a 9.3 percent rate, almost
three times as fast as in the prior three months, as the Bush
administration went to war with terrorists in Afghanistan.
Non-defense and state and local government spending also
increased.
Non-residential fixed investment, which includes spending on
commercial construction as well as business equipment and
software, fell at a 12.8 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter after
falling at an 8.5 percent pace in the third. Spending on non-
residential structures, such as office buildings, industrial parks and
hotels, declined at a 31 percent rate.
Business investment in equipment and software dropped at a 5.2
percent annual rate, compared with an 8.8 percent pace of decline
in the third quarter. EMC Corp., the largest maker of computer
data-storage systems, said last week it had a narrower-
than-expected fourth-quarter loss after sales fell less than forecast
and may return to profitability as soon as the second quarter.
Business Spending
Durable goods orders for computers and electronic products rose
3.5 percent in December, after rising in each of the previous two
months, the Commerce Department said yesterday. That's the first
time these orders increased for three consecutive months in seven
years.
``Companies are eager to invest in anything that can boost
productivity and improve profits coming out of a recession,'' said
Kenneth Mayland, president of ClearView Economics LLC in
Pepper Pike, Ohio, before the report.
Exports fell by $34.2 billion and imports dropped by $12.6 billion in
the fourth quarter. That left a net trade deficit of $432.6 billion. In the
third quarter, the net trade deficit was $411 billion.
Adjusted for inflation, GDP totaled $9.32 trillion in the fourth quarter
when measured at an annual rate. In the third quarter, GDP totaled
$9.31 trillion. |
