Final GDP reading shows US economy shrank 0.6% in the spring, cementing start of recession
Category: News & Politics
Via: vic-eldred • 2 years ago • 10 commentsBy: Megan Henney (Fox Business)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
GDP dipped at an annual rate of 0.6 percent in the second quarter of 2022. FOX Business' Jackie DeAngelis with more.
The U.S. economy shrank in the spring for the second consecutive quarter, meeting the criteria for a so-called technical recession as raging inflation and higher interest rates weighed on spending.
Gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of goods and services produced across the economy, shrank by 0.6% on an annualized basis in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said in its third reading of the data on Thursday. That is below the initially reported 0.9% decline and unchanged from the second reading of a 0.6% decline.
Economic output already fell over the first three months of the year, with GDP tumbling 1.6%, the worst performance since the spring of 2020, when the economy was still deep in the throes of the COVID-induced recession.
Recessions are technically defined by two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth and are characterized by high unemployment, low or negative GDP growth, falling income and slowing retail sales, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), which tracks downturns.
Construction workers work on a construction site on Flatbush Avenue on July 22, 2022 in the Flatbush neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough in New York City. ((Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
With back-to-back declines in growth, the economy meets the technical criteria for a recession, which requires a "significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and that lasts more than a few months." Still, the NBER — the semi-official arbiter — weighs multiple factors when calling a recession and typically takes up to a year before announcing the decision.
The NBER has stressed that it relies on more data than GDP in determining whether there is a recession, such as unemployment and consumer spending, which remained strong in the first six months of the year. It also takes into consideration the depth of any decline in economic activity.
The latest downturn stems from a number of factors, including declines in private inventories, residential and nonresidential investment, and government spending at the federal, state and local levels. Those decreases were offset by increases in net exports — the difference between what the U.S. exports and what it imports — as well as consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of GDP.
Contractors stand on the roof of a house under construction at the Norton Commons subdivision in Louisville, Kentucky, US, on Friday, July 1, 2022. (Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"Thus, real GDP could decline by relatively small amounts in two consecutive quarters without warranting the determination that a peak had occurred," the nonprofit said on its website.
The committee does not meet regularly, only when members decide it is warranted.
There are growing fears on Wall Street that the Federal Reserve will trigger a downturn as it raises interest rates at the fastest pace in three decades as it races to catch up with runaway inflation.
Policymakers last week approved their fifth consecutive interest rate hike and laid out an aggressive path for future increases that will put the federal funds rate range well into restrictive territory. Fed Chair Jerome Powell also walked away from the promise of a soft landing — the delicate balance between curbing inflation without crushing growth — warning that fighting inflation warranted economic "pain."
Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaks during a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. (day, May 4, 2022. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"The chances of a soft landing are likely to diminish to the extent that policy needs to be more restrictive or restrictive for longer," Powell told reporters in Washington. "Nonetheless, we're committed to getting inflation back down to 2%. We think a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain."
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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"The latest downturn stems from a number of factors, including declines in private inventories, residential and nonresidential investment, and government spending at the federal, state and local levels. "
And let us not forget the Fed which was printing money and sitting on interest rates.
Not a chance of that happening with this level of government spending. And it's all going to be put right at Biden's feet.
Where it belongs.
This won't help either:
Everywhere you look.
The old Roman Senate sent the Legions out to handle every problem. The US Senate sends money.
And don't forget what government agencies are allowed to spend:
She's doing everything she can to avoid answering the question.
Video's like this are hilarious. Although some do make my head hurt with the level of ignorance they display.
What they were getting away with was that local PP offices were being called "affiliates" as if they were small buisnesses out on their own and thus eligible for SBA loans. The previos SBA recognized it for what it was, but on came the dirty progressives. Rand Paul nailed them!
She was called out for misappropriation of funds and tried to tap dance her way out of it. That was a feeble attempt to insinuate that they "re-evaluated" the policy and claim she can't talk about recipients.
They expect that they'll always get away with it
She would fit well as the Biden Press Secretary . Deflection, spin and avoiding questions