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Picture du Jour: GDP – what it really looks like

Posted By Prieur du Plessis On February 3, 2010 @ 11:28 am In Economy,Investment | 2 Comments


By now we all know that a swing in inventories flattered the growth in U.S. Q4 GDP. The chart below, courtesy of Goldman’s chief US economist Jan Hatzius [1] (via Clusterstock – Chart of the Day [2]), shows the “real” story. It illustrates that the growth in real final demand – basically GDP excluding inventory restocking – is flat and doesn’t live up to past recoveries at all.

“There will be lingering headwinds to growth from the financial meltdown, such as ongoing credit restraint and an upward drift in the personal savings rate. The U.S. economic recovery should be sustained, but it will fall far short of what would normally occur in the wake of a very deep recession,” said BCA Research [3].

Without stronger demand growth, a V-shaped recovery is not on the cards and the unemployment rate will not start heading south.

clusterstock030210 [4]

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More on this topic (What's this?) [6] Read more on Gross Domestic Product [10], Goldman Sachs Group [11] at Wikinvest [12]

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URLs in this post:

[1] Jan Hatzius: http://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-after-six-months-we-can-safely-say-this-is-no-v-shaped-recovery-2010-2

[2] Clusterstock – Chart of the Day: http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-why-gdp-is-surging-2010-2?utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CS_COTD_020110

[3] BCA Research: http://www.bcaresearch.com/

[4] Image: http://www.investmentpostcards.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/clusterstock030210.jpg

[5] Did you enjoy this post? If so, click here to subscribe to updates to Investment Postcards from Cape Town by e-mail.: http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=921608&loc=en_US

[6] (What's this?): http://www.wikinvest.com/blogger/wikinvest_wire

[7] Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) Earnings: How the Mighty Have Fallen…: http://moneymorning.com/2012/01/17/goldman-sachs-group-inc-nyse-gs-earnings-how-the-mighty-have-fallen

[8] Thank GDP It’s Friday – Realy Cheque in Davos: http://wallstreetsectorselector.com/2012/01/thank-gdp-its-friday-realy-cheque-in-davos

[9] GDP Falls Less Than Expected On Government Expenditures: http://thevalueatrisk.blogspot.com/2009/07/gdp-falls-less-than-expected-on.html

[10] Gross Domestic Product: http://www.wikinvest.com/wiki/Gross_Domestic_Product

[11] Goldman Sachs Group: http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Goldman_Sachs_Group_(GS)

[12] Wikinvest: http://www.wikinvest.com

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