Economic Insights – January 2014

The final report for third quarter 2013 GDP contained a largely unexpected upward revision to real GDP growth.  The 4.1 percent annualized rate was the fastest pace of growth since the fourth quarter 2011.  The best part was that both consumer spending and business investment were revised higher, while inventories were unrevised; that means the "mix" is more indicative of better results in future quarters.

Most experts, including the Business Briefings team, have been expecting GDP growth in the fourth quarter to come in much .....