Top story: The economy is growing more this quarter than last. But don’t start celebrating just yet.
Here’s the good news:
- GDP – the “stuff” in goods and services this country produces – in the first three months of the year was up 2.5%. That's a reasonable (though not great) rate of growth.” (Justin Wolfers)
- “It still marks a reasonably healthy growth rate, especially compared to the end of 2012.” (Real Time Economics)
- And what led that growth? Personal consumption, up 3.2%, “which is pretty solid.” (Neil Irwin)
- "Housing continues to be a bright spot as residential investment was up almost 13% on an annual basis." (Jared Bernstein)
- True, today’s GDP number “may not be any great shakes but it looks pretty good compared to the rest of the developed world.” (Abnormal Returns)
Here’s the bad news:
- While consumers look interested in spending more, businesses don’t (Justin Wolfers)
- Another big culprit was austerity, as government spending – including a big dropoff in defense spending – was a big drag on the bottom line.(Neil Irwin)
- “We’re muddling along at basically the same pace we have for nearly four straight years of this godawful recovery.” (Wonkblog)
- Thanks to sequestration, “the public sector is poised to further drag on growth in the quarters ahead.” (Real Time Economics)