COMMERCE/ECONOMY: “The U.S. entered the ninth year of economic expansion on a familiar path of steady but unspectacular growth, with few obvious indications it is near exhausting itself.
Gross domestic product, a broad measure of goods and services produced in the U.S., rose at a 2.6% annual rate in the April to June period, the Commerce Department said Friday [7-28-17]. Figures are adjusted for inflation and seasonality.
The second-quarter advance marked a rebound after a lackluster start to the year, when GDP grew at only a 1.2% pace. It is less apparent that the glimpse of stronger growth is a sign of momentum. It may rather be repeating a familiar pattern of weak winters followed by a stronger spring and summer…
The U.S. emerged from the last recession in mid-2009. Just past the eight-year mark, the country is now into the third longest—but also the slowest—expansion since World War II, with GDP growth averaging a little more than 2%. By comparison, growth averaged 3.6% during a 10-year span in the 1990s and 4.9% during a nearly nine-year stretch in the 1960s, the only two expansions with longer durations.”
-Jeffrey Sparshott, “U.S. Economy Glides Back to Steady, Modest Growth Path,” The Wall Street Journal online, July 28, 2017 12:25pm