GDP Gets Notable Upgrade

For its final estimate for the third quarter, GDP got a notable upgrade. Real GDP growth for the third quarter was revised up to 3.1 percent annualized, compared to the second estimate of 2.7 percent annualized and to the advance estimate of 2.0 percent.

The latest number easily topped market expectations for a 2.8 percent advance.

 Demand figures also got a boost. Final sales of domestic product increased 2.4 percent versus the second estimate of 1.9 percent and second quarter growth of 1.7 percent. Final sales to domestic producers (which exclude net exports) were revised to 1.9 percent, compared to the second estimate of 1.7 percent and compared the prior quarter's 1.4 percent.

Unemployment rate falls to lowest level since 2008

The U.S. economy added 146,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7% from 7.9% in October, the Labor Department said. That's the lowest unemployment rate since December 2008. "Our analysis suggests that Hurricane Sandy did not substantively impact the national employment and unemployment estimates for November," the Labor Department said in a press release.

Stocks: Lots of Room to Run

Stocks have lots of room to run, said Goldman Sachs senior investment strategist Abby Joseph Cohen at the Bloomberg Hedge Fund conference in New York Wednesday morning. Cohen, a 22 year veteran of Goldman Sachs, estimates that even after the 2012 market rally, stocks could rise another 10% to 15% in 2013. While Congress has given the U.S. population reason to worry about taxes and the fiscal cliff, the overall fundamentals of the U.S. economy are healthy, and consumers have money to spend, Cohen said. Moreover, the U.S. has been reducing its debt relative to its growth domestic product during the past few years. She noted that debt was 4% of GDP for the fiscal year that started in October compared to an 11% ratio in 2008. "We are slowly growing our way out of the most extreme version of the debt crisis," she said.

November A Solid Month For Manufacturers

November was a solid month for the nation's manufacturers based on the PMI index from Markit Economics which shows a final reading of 52.8, up four tenths from the flash reading and up a sharp 1.8 points from October. Very encouraging is a good description for the details which show accelerating monthly growth for new orders and for output. New exports orders show their first monthly increase since May. Backlog orders are in the plus column for the first time since August. Employment growth is steady and respectable.

Consumer Confidence Increases Again

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had increased in October, also posted a moderate increase in November. The Index now stands at 73.7, up from 73.1 in October. The Expectations Index rose to 85.1 from 84.0 last month. The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics. The survey is conducted around what consumers buy and watch. Lynn Franco, the Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board: “The Consumer Confidence Index increased in November and is now at its highest level in more than four and a half years (76.4 Feb. 2008). This month’s moderate improvement was the result of an uptick in expectations. Over the past few months, consumers have grown increasingly more upbeat about the current and expected state of the job market, and this turnaround in sentiment is helping to boost confidence.”

Texas Future Outlook Remains Positive

Texas factory activity was little changed in November but the outlook slipped. The production index, a key measure of state manufacturing conditions, came in at 1.7, indicating output barely increased from October. Other survey measures suggested flat manufacturing activity in November. The new orders index came in at 0.4, suggesting that demand was unchanged from October. Perceptions of broader business conditions worsened in November. The general business activity index fell to minus 2.8 from plus 1.8 in October, returning to negative territory. The company outlook index moved down to minus 4.8 in November from plus 2.4 in October, registering its first negative reading since April. Labor market indicators were mixed. The employment index edged up to 6.7 in November, with more than 20 percent of firms reporting hiring compared with 15 percent reporting layoffs. The hours worked index dipped from minus 5.9 to minus 7.1. Indexes reflecting future business conditions fell sharply in November. The index of future general business activity plunged from 16.8 to minus 5.3, its lowest reading in four months. The index of future company outlook dropped from 20.9 to 1.8. Indexes for future manufacturing activity also fell this month but remained positive.

Yes Florida, The Economy *IS* On The Mend

I happened across this article today and wish I could claim that I wrote it. Here is the opening...

Sen. Marco Rubio (R) of Florida delivered his party's weekly address on Saturday morning, and made a provocative claim about President Obama.

"The bottom line is this president inherited a country with serious problems," Rubio said. "He asked the Congress to give him the stimulus and Obamacare to fix it. The Democrats in Congress gave it to him. And not only did it not work, it made everything worse."

What a joke!

So have a look at the full article here and see the Rubio claim debunked soundly.

Not only has the U.S. economy grown for the last 10 quarters, but the workforce has ADDED jobs for the last 22 months straight.

Can we do better? Sure. Did Obama policies make things worse?

I don't think so!