The economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5% for the third quarter of 2011. Not a fanstistic growth rate by any means, but it’s high enough to alleviate fears of a double-dip recession. It’s not as bad as we thought it would be! Hence, cause for optimism… or at least, less pessimism. Given that I’ve spent all of my post-college years in a haze of economic gloom, I’ll take whatever glimmer of hope I can get. From the Los Angeles Times:
“We’re inching our way forward,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial.
The new data from the Commerce Department on Thursday showed slow but steady improvement in the economy throughout 2011. The third-quarter data was in line with economists’ projections.
Consumer spending, particularly on automobiles, helped boost growth. Personal consumption increased at an annual rate of 2.4% in the third quarter, compared with just a 0.7% increase in the second quarter.
So, with the risk of a second recession abading, will this change your buying behavior? Will you be a little looser with the purse strings? Will you make some big-ticket item purchases that you have put off until now? Will you take out new loans for education or business?
I have to say that the news haven’t changed any of my plans, but it makes me feel much better about taking on debt to go to graduate school. The slowly warming economy probably – and unconciously – make me feel better about picking up a new necklace or a book that I might have passed on before.
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