US Economy Grows Slowly

“The US economy grew at an annual rate of just 1.2% from April to June, the US Department of Commerce announced on Friday, as cut backs by businesses wiped out a rise in consumer spending.” – The Guardian

The good news: The US economy is growing, mostly because of consumers who increased spending by 4.2%. Improvements in jobs and wages are helping, as are low interest rates and low fuel prices.

The not so good news: Businesses are spending less, including spending less on machines which suggests they expect a slowdown, or at least don’t want to take on more risk. Meanwhile, durable goods orders dropped by 4.2%.

The news would be better, but consumer spending is being constrained by housing costs which continue to rise. As for business spending, businesses have become scared of taking risk; which probably isn’t likely to change with the current uncertainties in the world.

The good news for the US: The economy may not be as healthy as we’d like, but it is one of the best in the world, for now.

(Click on the graph for the link.)

“US Economy Grows By Just 1.2%” – The Guardian