Economic Insights – June 2017

Economic data is volatile.  Weather, seasonal adjustments, calendar flukes, and measurement errors all affect the data.  Nonetheless, those with a political axe to grind, or an economic forecast of recession or boom, will grab one piece of data and act as if they have discovered the Holy Grail.

We saw this happen with First Quarter 2017 real GDP growth, for which the first estimate was reported at just 0.7 percent.  Pessimists went into a tizzy, but they shouldn’t have.  We argue that the slow but-steady economy, is still fully intact .....