Expect a flurry of mainstream press reports underscoring today's Commerce Department Gross Domestic Product revision as having been three percent below what polled economists predicted, 3.5% versus 3.6% — and ignore them, since 3.5% is perfectly normal economic growth for America and the sort of expansion for which the rest of the world would gladly trade. Once again, an initial reading of underperformance, 3.1% from three weeks ago, has been corrected by fifteen percent to reflect a healthy market.
Play games with articles, if you like. When journalists advance the notion of slowdown, consider that experts anticipated a six-percent rate drop, from 3.8% to 3.6%, in the first place; and if normal growth is criticized, remember what Wall Street, market mavens and the press think about inflation from growth and ratcheted interest rates. If there's cause, it's for satisfaction.
NOT BAD: A quick survey at the end of the day shows most headlines to be much more accommodating than I assumed this morning. Whether Wall Street's jubilance motivated this or not, the accuracy is most appreciated.