, the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy expanded at a better than expected 1.5% pace, down from the first quarter’s 2% growth rate (revised upwards from the original 1.9% rate). While ‘headline’ growth rate and some key aspects of the report’s internals came in better than expected, they nevertheless represent a decelerating trend in the economy’s growth profile.
Personal consumption expenditures (PCE), or consumer spending, which accounts for close to 70% of the economy, increased by 1.5%, compared to the 2.4% increase in the first quarter. Households spent less on durables, which dropped 1% after the strong 11.5% growth in the first quarter. Spending on non-durables modestly declined (1.5% vs. 1.6%), while spending on services (a much bigger piece of consumer spending) increased from 1.3% in the first quarter to 1.9% in the second quarter.
The pace of investment growth also decelerated, with non-residential fixed investment increasing at 5.3% vs. 7.5% in the first quarter. Non-residential structures barely increased (up 0.9% vs. the 12.9% increase in the first quarter), while outlays on equipment and software increased at a 7.2% pace compared to the first quarter’s 5.4% rate. Residential fixed investment decelerated from the first quarter’s 20.5% pace to 9.7%.
Federal government spending dropped, but at a much lower pace than was the case in the first quarter (down 0.4% vs.4.2%), while spending by state and local governments also dropped at a modestly lower rate (down 2.1% vs. down 2.2%). Net exports were a relatively bigger drag compared to the first quarter, while inventories were a net contributor instead of a drag as in the first quarter. Final sales of domestic product, which is basically GDP excluding inventories, increased at 1.2% rate in the second quarter, half of the first quarter’s 2.4% pace.
Today’s second quarter GDP report is not materially different from the same report a year ago that showed a roughly similar growth pace in the second quarter of 2011. We all know that the economy accelerated from that point onwards and ended the year at a solid 3% growth pace in the fourth quarter. Many are likely hoping for a repeat of that performance this year as well, reflected in the +2% consensus growth expectation for the third quarter and beyond.
But we should keep in mind that last year’s Q2 GDP print followed a much slower growth pace in the first quarter. This morning’s GDP report and a host of other economic readings arepointing to the opposite trend relative to what last year’s Q2 GDP report represented – the economy is decelerating instead of accelerating.
The international backdrop may not be much different from what the U.S. economy endured last year, though one has to say that the key emerging markets are clearly slowing down and that Europe may have reached a critical phase in its long running drama. But more significant is the unsettled domestic backdrop, with uncertainties about fiscal policy resulting from the Fiscal Cliff expected to shave off approximately half a percentage point from GDP growth.
As such, it is perhaps reasonable to be skeptical of current consensus expectations for second half economic growth. Given the tone of recent economic reports, I would expect GDP growth expectations for the second half to be trending lower in the coming days and weeks. With earnings expectations already coming down, it is hard to envision stocks making much headway in a decelerating GDP backdrop, notwithstanding Draghi inspired optimism.The Buddy Christ totally cracks me up!
and possibly very strong medication.
"...but look at it. Doesn't it... POP?"
OH MAAAN! If they had this when I was there,
I'd own it... then I could pose it around the house for when
Yes, I've seen this
in person. It totally pays to know your way around Jersey...
and since I'm an equal opportunity offender...
Schmuley.
*UPDATED* You too can own the Buddy Christ action figure as shown above... Goto Aria'z Store, it's listed under Miscellaneous!(or just go here)
or Schmoo-ley.
Schmoo-ley concept by my equally twisted sister, thanks Kar!
2 comments:
I hope Santa brings me a Buddy Christ this year!
Dogma is one of my favorite movies ever!Translate the following sentence to Romanian:
The declaration would read: 'The Commission recognises the pressing need for the collective management of the rights of phonogram performers and phonogram producers when radio or television productions incorporating broadcasts from commercial phonograms as an integral part thereof are made available to the public in such a way that members of the public may access the radio or television productions from a place and at a time individually chosen by them.

Romanian:
Declaraţia ar avea următoarea formulare: "Comisia recunoaşte nevoia urgentă de a asigura o gestionare colectivă a drepturilor artiştilor de fonogramă şi ale producătorilor de fonograme, atunci când producţiile radio sau televizate care includ transmisii din fonogramele comerciale, ca parte integrantă a acestora, sunt puse la dispoziţia publicului într-un mod prin care membrii publicului pot avea acces la producţiile radio sau televizate dintr-un loc şi la un moment ales individual de fiecare dintre ei.No the 2nd port is actually just for bridging another connection AFAIK.  They don't do LACP or anything like that to support 2 Gbps (at least not yet).

Have you tried using any different 5 GHz channels/ruled out interference causing high channel utilization?  Also if your power level is set to "High" try knocking it down.  You might be hurting yourself with too much signal.  

On a side note the beta code for the UniFi controller has the new features to report channel utilization and everything.  I think it will be released as stable in a few weeks.

You've made me curious enough to order a couple of the 2nd gen UAP-AC-PRO's for myself.  I've been meaning to upgrade so I could try out the new features but hadn't gotten around to it yet.They don't have million soldiers. Million is a number that includes administrative staff and when fully equipped with manpower. The ground force IF fully equipped with manpower is about 300k-350k soldiers, but many of their BTGs that invaded in the beginning didn't have more than 60-70% of full manpower.

Tell me, why do they started to find people to sign military contracts almost right away after invasion if they still have so many "trained" people. There were already many russian POWs that signed their contracts starting from March and some even in early May.

1st Guards Tank Army and other units were mostly destroyed or had heavy casualties in the beginning they lost their effectiveness, so they were getting replenished with manpower and equipment. They won't be as effective anymore.

Do you think that what even the most elite units wasn't able to accomplish the newly recruited are going to do any better?International Lose Your Keys Day?
So, it wasn't just Uiscebot who lost his keys this morning. Nope, a similar drama was unfolding a few miles away in sunny (aka wet and murky) Beech Grove. All the kids ready, we might just have been leaving in time to get to school before the bell for once, but where the bloody hell were my keys?? I never lose them. Frantic calls to hubby - which is the usual waste of time as he obviously has a religious belief banning him from answering his mobile, especially when his desperate wife rings multiple times.
On a normal morning I wouldn't be too concerned with missing keys - my kids are so phenomenally brilliant that they can afford to miss a little bit of school. But no, of course this morning eldest child had a school trip to the National Gallery.
I rang a cab. I couldn't believe I was going to have to get a taxi to get the kids to school. But of course, the magic of abandoning the search worked and the keys started yelling at me from the bottom of a little used bag. Teasing mo fo's!!!!
Quick call to cancel the cab (as I am such a nice person.) Fecked the kids in the car. Go! Go! Go! We're ten minutes late... Hurl the kids into school. I then spent 50 minutes sitting outside the school waiting to see if the bus would turn up or if poor child had missed his trip. Why did I wait? Couldn't I have just gone in and found out? I think I was so wound up by the horror that I would have been like a crazy woman.
For I am a crazy woman.
Ps When child got home from trip to the National Gallery all he could do was giggle about the pictures of naked people. Sigh.
Oh, you young things. Lose your keys and it's an emergency. Wait till time has had his wicked way with you and losing things is a regular occurrence.
Surprised to hear that yours were in your bag - mine always reappear in the place I started looking. A sort