By Heather Long Heather Long Economics correspondent Email Bio Follow April 26 at 8:38 PM The U.S. economy expanded at a strong 3.2 percent annualized rate in the first quarter of 2019, the government reported Friday, blowing past expectations and prompting celebration among President Trump and his advisers.
Many economists had predicted anemic growth at the start of the year, as the partial government shutdown, market jitters and extremely cold weather caused many businesses and consumers to hit the pause button on big purchases. But forecasters raised their estimates as it became clear some one-time factors would temporarily lift the economy.
Some experts, including at the Federal Reserve, forecast growth will slow to about 2 percent, similar to the Obama years, while other see growth sticking closer to 2.5 percent, which would be noticeably above trend. But there is broad agreement that a recession looks increasingly unlikely ahead of the election in November.
Gallup polling found similar results with half of Americans giving the economy an “excellent” or “good” rating lately, the most upbeat assessment since 2001. The other typical response in times of trouble is for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, but there is much less scope to do that now than there was 20 years ago.
“Today’s economy is not anywhere close to the late 1990s,” said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at accounting firm RSM. “We are not seeing the increases in productivity and wages that we saw in that period when everyone called Alan Greenspan the ‘maestro.’ ” But the president’s top economic advisers say they are revising their growth forecasts even higher after examining the data. They believe growth would have been 3.5 percent in the first quarter without the shutdown and that consumption will pick up later this year.
After a big buying spree in the winter, companies are unlikely to keep expanding their inventory this spring, meaning second-quarter growth could take a hit. The unusual jump in U.S. exports is also likely to be hard to sustain. If the trade deficit widens in the second quarter, that would also be a drag on growth.
We are places we haven't been in along time!
What BS, how does record Black, Hispanic, Asian, woman, White, male employment, record numbers of minority startups, and a broad and deep economy signal either inequity, or weakness? You are blinded by hate.
It won't last. Won't be pretty.
mijomojo1 Tax return vanished for everyone but rich people .we buy good they buy politicians. Politicians don't make economy go around
Right.
It's worse thanks the 90s in the 90s I lived a care free teenage life. Today I fear for my life even as the rich get richer
What the heck is “readiness for a downturn”
“More inequality”......ridiculous.
GDP is a fraudulent metric. If you could run up unpayable debt and count that as income you could look super-rich. That's what the GDP metric does.
The pathetic fantasy world of fake news.
Yep. Nothing like jobs to spread inequality. Inequality can only be solved through more bloated inefficient government
The Bezos Enquirer is not a communist propaganda rag.fucking hilarious!
yawn In the 90's racism was dead. All Americans had an equal shot. Just like now. Then, the Obama years restored the hyphens. Stuff your victimhood.
This is not true and you are fear mongering
At the end of the Clinton administration, in 2001, the country was running a record surplus and Alan Greenspan was writing in the Wall Street Journal about how inadvisable it was to pay down the national debt too fast. Pepperidge Farm remembers.
And Kudlow wants a rate cut?
Yes it’s so sad we should go back to the good old days of Obama with millions more on welfare and food stamps but at least it couldn’t get any worse for them
Still feeling butt hurt eh.
Bullshit article
You again with the fear mongering, you need an anti depressant or something.
LOL .. no it doesn’t. wapo and it’s TDS ..! On other hand wapo needs to be thanked for not somehow crediting this this red hot economy to Obama. Looks like even wapo knows that doesn’t work no more!
Wapo is getting more desperate by the day
You can say the economy 'feels' anyway you like. I'm just glad Obama is no longer in charge of it.
Actually, it feels like 2008. Tax cuts for the wealthy and no guidelines to prevent another meltdown. A money-grab by the rich, with the economy being the collateral damage.
%3.2 growth Q1 2019 smashing expectations after you guys said for months that Trump tax cuts would stifle the economy. So instead of reporting GOOD news ,you tag it with inequality and less readiness. FakeNews
This time when it crashes there will be no recovery
Because of DerangedDonald AmericansForImpeachment
tRump administration has benefited from a rising stock market and low unemployment, gains that reflect, in large part, an economic expansion that began during Barack Obama’s Presidency. Obama, one of the greatest ever!
I disagree that this economy 'feels' like the 1990s. We were driving our economy with innovation. Not by dumping dead money/debt into the hands of the rich. This is not a growing economy. Its a recession's first looks as the market tries to buy up as much as it can beforehand.
Pullleaz! You've been saying this won't last for 3 fucking years now. I should wake up every day, and tell everyone around me it's going to rain one of these days. 6 months from now when it rains say, 'I TOLD YOU SO!'
Much so. I remember. And am short again.
The WAPO has about two years to foment fears about a downtown so that they can hurt consumer confidence, which could actually lead to a downturn. Economic instability is only chance for democrats in 2020. Let’s make it happen wapo!
The way Dems and liberal media speak it's as if Obama wasn't president for 8 of the last 10 years.
POTUS would call it: make the USA 🇺🇸 great again...
TAIWAN Republic Defense Force
Strong economy is bigoted.
We only need a scapegoat to turn this ship around. If only someone would just vilify an entire population already.
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