Does the us gdp reveal that the recession is coming to an end?
The U.S. economy shrank at an annualized rate of just 1 percent in the second quarter in a sign that the longest recession since World War II could be coming to an end. A report issued Friday by the Commerce Department cheered economists, who had expected the gross domestic product to contract at a 1.5 percent rate from April through June, after plunging at a 6.4 percent rate in the first quarter. “This is good news,” said economist Nariman Behravesh with IHS Global Insight. “It means we’re going to hit bottom soon if we’re not already at bottom, and we’ll start to see at least some growth by the end of the year.” Sources: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/08/01/MN301926O4.
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US economy showed signs of emerging from a long and brutal recession, according to data Friday showing a narrower-than-expected 1.0 percent decline in output in the second quarter. The Commerce Department estimate on gross domestic product (GDP) was stronger than expected by private forecasters who had called on average for a 1.5 percent annualized pace of contraction in the April-June quarter. The report showed an easing of the horrific slump and lent credence to predictions that the world’s biggest economy was close to emerging from a recession that began in December 2007. The report “is another indication that the recession will soon end,” said Augustine Faucher, economist at Moody’s Economy.com. “Conditions are set for a rebound in the current quarter.” Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates, said the figures showed “signs of stabilization in a lot of areas of the economy, so the worst is def
