Economic Growth Revised Lower for 3rd Quarter

From the Wall Street Journal online:


The U.S. economy expanded less than thought during the third quarter as consumer spending fell short of an earlier estimate, though signs point to stronger growth in the final months of the year.

Separately, new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, reaching the lowest level since April 2008 and providing another sign of improvement for the weak labor market.

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of all the goods and services produced in an economy, grew at an inflation-adjusted annual rate of 1.8% in the July to September period.... lower than the previous reading of 2.0%....


For the economy as a whole, the final three months of the year look stronger. Consumer spending has looked solid during the key holiday shopping season and exports have been surprisingly resilient. Many economists have been forecasting fourth-quarter growth greater than 3.0%.

However, the unemployment rate remains historically high at 8.6% and there are many clouds on the economic horizon, including the chance of higher taxes at home and the fallout from Europe's ongoing debt crisis....

The Federal Reserve is considering additional steps to help the economy, though some officials at the central bank worry that further monetary stimulus could spur inflation....

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Link: http://online.wsj.com/public/page/news-economy.html