ECONOMY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. economy expanded at a rate of 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday [3-28-18], much better than Wall Street analysts expected and very close to President Trump’s goal of 3 percent growth. The strong growth came largely from Americans opening their wallets to spend more. Consumption accounts for about 70 percent of the U.S. economy, and as more Americans get jobs, they are able to buy more online and at stores. Businesses also boosted their spending at the end of last year, beefing up their inventories as executives expect sales to pick up. There was also more federal government spending, especially on defense, according to the report. The new estimate revises the government’s previous estimate for growth from October through December, which was 2.5 percent. The jump to 2.9 percent growth was better than economists expected and means that the U.S. economy grew at an average pace of 3.1 percent from April through December of last year, a fact the Trump administration is likely to tout as evidence its economic policies are working.”
-Heather Long, U.S. economy grew at a pace very close to Trump’s 3 percent goal at end of last year,” The Washington Post, Mar. 28, 2018 11:33am