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'Nuf said.. the liberals have done nothing but lie all the time this year.
So Kidicious, you have any more nonsense for everybody here to listen? Or are you going to continue to deny the reality?
The U.S. economic recovery picked up some steam this spring as consumers bought more cars, trucks and appliances, defense spending surged because of the war in Iraq, and businesses invested more, the Commerce Department reported yesterday.
The economy expanded at a 2.4 percent annual rate in the April-June period, a better pace than many analysts had expected and a moderate improvement from the sluggishness of the previous six months, bolstering predictions of stronger growth later this year.
With interest rates still relatively low, the recent federal tax cut putting more money in many families' hands and the war-related spending continuing, many private and government forecasters are predicting that the economy will grow at an annual rate reaching and perhaps topping 4 percent in the second half of the year.
The economy continued to lose jobs during the second quarter, as the jobless rate rose to a nine-year high of 6.4 percent in June. But the Labor Department reported yesterday that the number of people filing initial claims for unemployment benefits declined again last week, a possible signal that the lackluster U.S. labor market is beginning to improve, analysts said. The government's July employment figures will be released today.
Democrats have increasingly complained that President Bush's economic policies, which have centered on income tax cuts for individuals and businesses, have done little to help the more than 9 million unemployed workers.
The Bush administration welcomed the economic reports yesterday.
"Today's announcement . . . indicates that our economy is clearly moving in the right direction," Commerce Secretary. Donald L. Evans said in a statement. "The president's tax cut is beginning to work its way into the economy, and the stock market continues to reflect the confidence that investors have in the short-term economic outlook. Today's report also shows increased business investment during this past spring and provides some welcome news to Americans looking for work this summer and fall."
The second-quarter gain in the nation's gross domestic product, a broad measure of production of goods and services, followed two quarters of growth at just a 1.4 percent annual rate, after adjustment for inflation. The increase was the result in part of the jump in defense spending, which by some measures was the largest for a single quarter since 1951, during the Korean War. Its impact on growth for the quarter was twice that of the increase in consumer spending.
Increases in business spending for new structures and for equipment and software also contributed importantly. The rise in outlays for structures, such as new plants and office buildings, was small, but it followed six consecutive quarters of declines. The larger gain in equipment and software was driven mostly by purchases of computers and related equipment.
In contrast, the GDP was held down by a large increase in the nation's trade deficit.
Cautious businesses also reduced their stocks of unsold goods, which clipped about three-fourths of a percentage point from the overall growth rate.
But there are signs that industrial production has begun to rise. And forecasters who expect stronger economic growth in coming months are counting on businesses to push output higher by placing orders to rebuild their depleted stocks of goods.
"With domestic final sales already strengthening, and inventories unlikely to drop again, the stage is set for very strong third-quarter growth," said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics Ltd. in Valhalla, N.Y.
Consumer spending rose at a 3.3 percent annual rate in the second quarter, primarily because of a jump in purchases of durable goods, primarily new motor vehicles. The optimistic forecasters predict that consumers will step up their spending during the rest of the year, partly because of income tax cuts that started boosting their take-home pay last month and the checks mailed to many families because of an increase in the child tax credit.
Meanwhile, the number of initial claims for jobless benefits dropped by 3,000, to 388,000, in the week ended last Saturday, the Labor Department reported yesterday. That was the second consecutive week in which claims fell below 400,000 after 22 consecutive weeks above that level. Initial claims reached a high of more than 450,000 at the beginning of April.
Because of seasonal adjustment problems related to plant closings in the auto industry, analysts reacted cautiously to the unexpected drop in claims, but some said underlying employment conditions may be improving faster than they had thought.
Businesses continued to cut tens of thousands of jobs from their payrolls even as they increased their output in the second quarter because of large gains in productivity -- the amount of goods and services produced for each hour worked. For instance, according to the Labor Department, workers on private payrolls worked fewer total hours during the second quarter than they did in the first.
In a separate report, the Labor Department said its employment cost index rose 0.9 percent in the three months ended in June, for a gain from June 2002 of 3.7 percent. The index, regarded by most economists as the best measure of changes in employers' cost for wages, salaries and benefits, showed that wages and salaries increased only 0.6 percent during the quarter while the cost of benefits rose 1.4 percent. In the first quarter, wages and salaries were up 1 percent and benefit costs jumped 2.2 percent, with rising costs for health insurance a major factor.
The economy expanded at a 2.4 percent annual rate in the April-June period, a better pace than many analysts had expected and a moderate improvement from the sluggishness of the previous six months, bolstering predictions of stronger growth later this year.
With interest rates still relatively low, the recent federal tax cut putting more money in many families' hands and the war-related spending continuing, many private and government forecasters are predicting that the economy will grow at an annual rate reaching and perhaps topping 4 percent in the second half of the year.
The economy continued to lose jobs during the second quarter, as the jobless rate rose to a nine-year high of 6.4 percent in June. But the Labor Department reported yesterday that the number of people filing initial claims for unemployment benefits declined again last week, a possible signal that the lackluster U.S. labor market is beginning to improve, analysts said. The government's July employment figures will be released today.
Democrats have increasingly complained that President Bush's economic policies, which have centered on income tax cuts for individuals and businesses, have done little to help the more than 9 million unemployed workers.
The Bush administration welcomed the economic reports yesterday.
"Today's announcement . . . indicates that our economy is clearly moving in the right direction," Commerce Secretary. Donald L. Evans said in a statement. "The president's tax cut is beginning to work its way into the economy, and the stock market continues to reflect the confidence that investors have in the short-term economic outlook. Today's report also shows increased business investment during this past spring and provides some welcome news to Americans looking for work this summer and fall."
The second-quarter gain in the nation's gross domestic product, a broad measure of production of goods and services, followed two quarters of growth at just a 1.4 percent annual rate, after adjustment for inflation. The increase was the result in part of the jump in defense spending, which by some measures was the largest for a single quarter since 1951, during the Korean War. Its impact on growth for the quarter was twice that of the increase in consumer spending.
Increases in business spending for new structures and for equipment and software also contributed importantly. The rise in outlays for structures, such as new plants and office buildings, was small, but it followed six consecutive quarters of declines. The larger gain in equipment and software was driven mostly by purchases of computers and related equipment.
In contrast, the GDP was held down by a large increase in the nation's trade deficit.
Cautious businesses also reduced their stocks of unsold goods, which clipped about three-fourths of a percentage point from the overall growth rate.
But there are signs that industrial production has begun to rise. And forecasters who expect stronger economic growth in coming months are counting on businesses to push output higher by placing orders to rebuild their depleted stocks of goods.
"With domestic final sales already strengthening, and inventories unlikely to drop again, the stage is set for very strong third-quarter growth," said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics Ltd. in Valhalla, N.Y.
Consumer spending rose at a 3.3 percent annual rate in the second quarter, primarily because of a jump in purchases of durable goods, primarily new motor vehicles. The optimistic forecasters predict that consumers will step up their spending during the rest of the year, partly because of income tax cuts that started boosting their take-home pay last month and the checks mailed to many families because of an increase in the child tax credit.
Meanwhile, the number of initial claims for jobless benefits dropped by 3,000, to 388,000, in the week ended last Saturday, the Labor Department reported yesterday. That was the second consecutive week in which claims fell below 400,000 after 22 consecutive weeks above that level. Initial claims reached a high of more than 450,000 at the beginning of April.
Because of seasonal adjustment problems related to plant closings in the auto industry, analysts reacted cautiously to the unexpected drop in claims, but some said underlying employment conditions may be improving faster than they had thought.
Businesses continued to cut tens of thousands of jobs from their payrolls even as they increased their output in the second quarter because of large gains in productivity -- the amount of goods and services produced for each hour worked. For instance, according to the Labor Department, workers on private payrolls worked fewer total hours during the second quarter than they did in the first.
In a separate report, the Labor Department said its employment cost index rose 0.9 percent in the three months ended in June, for a gain from June 2002 of 3.7 percent. The index, regarded by most economists as the best measure of changes in employers' cost for wages, salaries and benefits, showed that wages and salaries increased only 0.6 percent during the quarter while the cost of benefits rose 1.4 percent. In the first quarter, wages and salaries were up 1 percent and benefit costs jumped 2.2 percent, with rising costs for health insurance a major factor.
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