Economic Insights – October 2017

It’s official.  Second quarter 2017 GDP grew at a 3.1 percent annual rate, the fastest quarterly rate since 2007.  Meanwhile, real “Core GDP,” which strips out inventories, net exports, and government purchases, rose at a healthy 3.2 percent annual rate in the second quarter and was up at an average 2.6 percent annual rate over the past two years.  More importantly, we’re estimating that real GDP grew at a 3.0 percent annual rate in the third quarter.

The impacts of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma will begin to be felt in .....