While the Dow hit 14,000 and Wall Street cheered, economic indicators cast a broadening dark shadow. Wall street is partying like it is March 2000. Yet Q4 GDP showed economic contraction.
Superstorm Sandy's economic effects are popping up like the dark clouds of a hurricane. In The Perfect Storm we predicted Sandy would negatively impact Q4 GDP by 0.5 percentage points. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's survey of professional forecasters recently downgraded their Q4 GDP estimates by 0.4 percentage points to 1.8% annualized Q4 GDP growth. There are some estimates which are as low as 0.5% Q4 GDP, much of the downgrades due to superstorm Sandy.
Now the data is rolling in, like the storm surge itself. Sandy hit the New Jersey coast on October 29th. Even while the damage, loss of power, business closings and economic activity would seem to go negative after that date, October industrial production was hit with a full percentage point of Hurricane Sandy related contraction.
Welcome to the weekly roundup of great articles, facts and figures. These are the weekly finds that made our eyes pop.
Hurricane Hype for Advertising Bucks
In the wee hours of Saturday morning, MSNBC had some knuckle head reporter position himself on the Outer Banks so it gave the illusion waves were lapping at his back. Stay Safe was said during every interview in a voice of dire concern, the reporter would be swept out to sea, live on air. With that, we bring you Get Real: Hurricane Irene Should Be Renamed Hurricane Hype:
By now, Hurricane Gustav is ravaging the great city of New Orleans and the surrounding Gulf Coast. Our hopes and prayers goes out to the good folks of the area. Well you probably have guessed, that Johnny Venom would've found the economic angle on all this. Rest assured, fellow Kossacks, I won't let you down! But once again, I do hope for the best for the folks aflicted by Gustave.
Gustave could raise the price at the pump, among other things
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