tax refunds were +15% vs last yr. don't hear many talking about this as a possible reason for increased consumer spending. needless to say, a one-off event.
The number would've been worse if imports weren't falling faster than exports. GDP = C + I + G + (X − M) Core prices are still positive. Consumer spending bounced positive. Inventories are still falling. The bond market is slowly coming back as BBT and NTRS issued some paper without government backing. Current Q looks like -3% GDP. Kinda hard to see where the growth back to the normalized 3% GDP will come from as the fuel in the last so called boom (2004-2007) came from mortgage equity withdrawals. That atm machine will be out of order for awhile.
GDP -6.1%, Chrysler going bankrupt tomorrow, GM next month and BAC and C are still under water despite borrowing money for free and billions in tax dollars. The S&P has rallied almost 30% in less than two months on this obvious news. At this rate we'll be at 1200 by August '09 and 1800 by August '10. It's the new economy, boys.
Bullshit rallies never last, as their foundations are built on sand, not solid ground. FAAAAADE!!!!!!!