Displaying items by tag: GDP
EU Growth Slows to Worst in 4 Years
(Berlin)
In what could be a sign of a looming recession in Western countries, the EU just released its worst GDP figures in four years. The third quarter produced just 1.7% growth across the EU, the worst number in four years. The pace slowed from the second quarter, when growth was at 2.2%. Oxford Economics commented on the numbers that “‘temporary factors’ have been overplayed to justify the slowdown in the eurozone economy at the start of the year, and that risks are clearly skewed to the downside.” Notably, Italy produced no GDP growth in the third quarter.
FINSUM: We wonder if this is a case of the EU suffering its own problems, or whether it may be systemic and spreading.
A US GDP Report Has Never Been This Important
(Washington)
The whole market has been waiting on today’s GDP report for weeks, and this morning it finally hit the tape. With so much anxiety about the possible impact of a trade war, coupled with the expectation that the tax cut gave the economy a big boost, it is hard to remember a time when a GDP report was more relevant. Well, the figure is in, and it is a winner—the US economy expanded at 4.1% in the second quarter.
FINSUM: This is a great number, but the issue is that it takes very little of the most recent developments—trade tensions—into a account because it is for the second quarter only. We imagine the third quarter GDP figure will be even more important.