PDA

View Full Version : US GDP grows by 3.2% in 1st quarter



jimnyc
04-26-2019, 01:43 PM
Everything swings up again and oil down. Damn great streak that we're all watching, and many earning from. Hate him or love him and politics completely aside and forgetting the WH - we all must admit that things look bright and shiny in the economic department. I want to sell the home, sell of a few stocks or do something to capitalize on it, but as usual will just ride it out. My home appraisal is SO SO much higher than it was a few years back. The valuation has went up on my home by And yep, I'm dumb enough to pay a little to folks I know in the know, to get an appraisal every few years to confirm valuation, but the wifey isn't ready to sell, profit or not. :( --- and lets put it this way, it went up and down while Obama was in office but overall it went up a spell but not much over his time. Now since Obama has left office, and Trump started in January of 2017 - the appraisal went up by over $300,000. Now, sometimes a lot of factors go into home appraisals and various things can change the value. But in this case nothing has changed other than the presidency. (I'm not naive, I know that 300+ likely won't be realized, and would likely settle for a lesser amount).

And how about you pete311 ? You say you dabble in some financial things, and said it was looking good, how you doing with things now?

Gas prices have went down by me too! Anyway, just happy with the latest news. :)

----

US economy grows by 3.2% in the first quarter, topping expectations

--First-quarter gross domestic product expanded by 3.2%, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said in its initial read of the economy for that period.
--Economists polled by Dow Jones expected the U.S. economy increased by 2.5% in the first quarter.
--Gross domestic product for the first quarter was the best start to a year since 2015.

The U.S. economy grew at a faster pace than expected in the first quarter and posted its best growth to start a year in four years.

First-quarter gross domestic product expanded by 3.2%, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Friday in its initial read of the economy for that period. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected growth of 2.5%. It was the first time since 2015 that first-quarter GDP topped 3%.

“The upside beat was helped by net trade (exports jumped while imports contracted sharply) and inventories which combined contributed almost 170 bps of the rise,” wrote Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group. “Personal spending though, the biggest component was up just 1.2%, two tenths more than expected as an increase in spending on services and nondurable goods offset a decline in spending on durable goods.”

Exports rose 3.7% in the first quarter, while imports decreased by 3.7%. Economic growth also got a lift from strong investments in intellectual property products. Those investments expanded by 8.6%.

Disposable personal income increased by 3%, while prices increased by 1.3% when excluding food and energy. Overall prices climbed by 0.8% in the first quarter.

Rest - https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/26/gdp-q1-2019-first-read.html


Economy grows 3.2% in first quarter, GDP shows, in report showing strength as well as short-term boosts

The numbers: Reports of the demise of the U.S. economy proved unfounded as first-quarter activity showed surprising strength. The U.S. economy expanded at a 3.2% annual pace in the first three months of 2019, the government said Friday.

The gain was well above forecasts. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 2.3% increase in gross domestic product. The economy grew at a 2.2% rate in the final three months of 2018.

Inflation moderated a bit in the first quarter.

What happened: One unexpected factor behind the acceleration in GDP growth in the first quarter was a sharp upturn in state and local government spending.

Spending at this level jumped 3.9% after a 1.3% drop in the prior three months. This was the fastest gain in three years. Spending by local governments likely picked up due to the partial federal government shutdown.

Also fueling the stronger GDP growth were stronger inventory building and trade. These factors are volatile and could reverse this quarter.

Final sales to domestic purchasers, which excludes trade and inventory behavior, rose 2.3% in the first quarter, the smallest gain in three years, but still well above what economists were expecting.

The value of inventories increased to $128.4 billion from $96.8 billion, adding to GDP.

The trade sector added a little more than 1% to growth in the first quarter. Exports rose 3.7%, while imports dropped by the same amount, leading to a smaller trade deficit.

Offsetting these gains, consumer spending decelerated to a 1.2% gain, the slowest increase in a year.

Business fixed investment decelerated to a relatively slow 2.7% gain, down from a 5.4% gain in the prior quarter. Investment in structures fell 0.8%, the third straight decline.

Investment in new housing was another weak spot. Residential investment dropped 2.8%, the fifth straight quarterly decline.

Inflation, as measured by the personal consumption expenditure price index, fell to a 1.4% annual rate in the first quarter from 1.9% in the prior three-month period. The decline in core PCE inflation was less pronounced, slipping to 1.7% from 1.9%. The monthly inflation numbers will be released on Monday.

Big picture: The acceleration in growth in the first quarter is all the more remarkable considering the doom and gloom that surrounded the first-quarter outlook in December. Before the new year began, the Atlanta Fed’s “nowcast” model projected 0.5% growth and the flattening of the yield curve was fueling talk of recession. The partial government shutdown, which limited economic data, added to unease.

Instead, the economic data improved steadily as the quarter progressed. Economists think the strong gain in retail sales in March bodes well for second-quarter growth.

The Federal Reserve is not expected to change its patient approach to interest-rate policy despite the strong report. Officials are expected to wait to see how the economy fares in the second quarter before making any decisions. The solid performance in the first quarter may quell some of the chatter that the next Fed move will be a rate cut.

Rest - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/economy-grows-32-in-first-quarter-gdp-shows-much-stronger-than-anticipated-2019-04-26

jimnyc
04-26-2019, 01:46 PM
Forgot to put this one up there too.

---

Oil prices plunge nearly 4% after Trump says he told OPEC to tame fuel costs

---Oil price pullback on Friday threatens to derail the longest run of weekly gains in years.
---Futures extend early losses after President Donald Trump says he told OPEC to take action to temper fuel costs.
---The drop follows Brent’s rise above $75 per barrel for the first time this year after several countries suspended imports of Russian oil.

Oil prices tumbled as much as 4% on Friday, extending early losses after President Donald Trump said he told OPEC to take action to temper fuel costs.

“The gasoline prices are coming down. I called up OPEC. I said, ‘You’ve got to bring them down. You’ve got to bring them down,’ and gasoline’s coming down,” Trump told reporters en route to a National Rifle Association event in Indianapolis.
....

Earlier this week, the administration said it will not extend waivers that allow several countries to continue buying Iranian crude despite U.S. sanctions on the Islamic Republic. Oil prices surged more than 3% in the two days following the announcement.

The administration said it has secured commitments from Saudi Arabia, UAE and other allies to fill any gap left by the anticipated drop in Iranian supplies.

However, the influential Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said earlier this week that there is no need to immediately start pumping more oil, and the kingdom will hike output only after customers ask for more supplies.

Prices fell earlier on expectations that some OPEC members will raise output to counter shrinking exports from Iran.

Rest - https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/26/oil-market-opec-output-rises-us-sanctions-on-iranian-oil-in-focus.html

pete311
04-27-2019, 09:44 AM
Other than NVDA shitting the bed again, my stocks look good and recovered about 90% from the small crash from last year. Great GDP numbers!

Elessar
04-27-2019, 10:58 AM
Other than NVDA shitting the bed again, my stocks look good and recovered about 90% from the small crash from last year. Great GDP numbers!

Glad to hear that!

FakeNewsSux
04-27-2019, 12:35 PM
And unlike Obama GDP numbers, these numbers won't be revised down to 1.2% next month! Probably because they would be banner headlines and not buried on page D17.