BillHobbs.com is a frequently updated blog of original reporting and commentary by Bill Hobbs, a longtime Nashville journalist and media relations adviser. I am currently serving as communications director for the Tennessee Republican Party, a job I began on Oct. 29, 2007.
Here's the news on the ongoing Bush economic boom, including rising consumer confidence, predictions of strong GDP growth, rising business inventories, and bigger tax rebate checks coming in the spring. From Reuters:
U.S. consumers enjoyed a rush of confidence in January, a survey showed on Friday, calming concerns that a lackluster labor market would crimp sentiment and spending. … Overall, the upbeat temper of recent data has quashed fears of a sharp slowdown from the frenetic pace of growth in the third quarter, when Gross Domestic Product rose 8.2 percent.
"Fourth-quarter GDP growth looks like coming in around 5 percent and maybe even 6.0," said Ram Bhagavatula, chief economist at RBS Financial Markets. "That's an amazing performance and it sets up this quarter for yet more," he said, predicting GDP growth of 4.0 percent to 5.0 percent in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department says business inventories rose in November:
America's businesses - keeping a close eye on the economy's pulse - boosted their stockpiles by a modest 0.3 percent in November, a sign that companies are betting the rebound will be lasting.
Expectations of strong GDP growth this quarter "certainly got a boost" from the latest consumer sentiment index from the University of Michigan, says the Reuters report. The index leapt to 103.2 in January from 92.6 in December, the biggest monthly jump since 1992, handily beating forecasts of a modest rise to 94.0. Also, the consumer expectations index jumped to 99.5 in January from 89.8, while the current conditions index rose to 108.9 from 97.0 in December.
"It was a lot bigger jump in consumer confidence than people were expecting," said Wesley Beal, chief U.S. economist at Ideaglobal in New York. "People are going to get bigger tax return checks in the first quarter as part of the tax cut and with strong consumer confidence, that improves the consumer spending outlook in the first quarter," he added.Strong economic growth. I'd blame the Bush tax cuts, but Mr. Beal already did.
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