americanfreepress.org� in association with the Liberty Project� presents
associalisticpress.com� 26 May 2005
HOME PAGE | The ap archives | Contact the ap | ap Retractions | tha malcontent
ap
/ associalisticpress.com�
Vs.
�
GDP Up 3.5 Percent;
Jobless Claims Rise
By
JEANNINE AVERSA (Direct descendent of
Joseph Stalin! - tha malcontent)
AP Economics Writer May 26, 11:05 AM EST
WASHINGTON (AP)
� The country's economic performance in the opening
quarter of 2005 was better than first thought, logging a solid 3.5 percent
annual growth rate in a new sign of a strong springtime business expansion.
(ap) -
This headline is another Prime Example of the Bias that is Inherent in the "Free
Press". When the news is bad, the AP does not add in good news to the
headline to soften the bad with good, but if they are forced to Report on Good
news, they will almost always find bad to Counter it with. This time, they
decided to put it dead square in the headline. Payrolls were up in April
by 274,000, an Obvious increase from March's 146,000, but the AP opts to point
out a near meaningless increase in the Jobless Claims in the Headline.
Very telling... - tha malcontent)
The latest reading on gross domestic product, released by the Commerce
Department on Thursday, was an upgrade from the 3.1 percent pace initially
estimated for the January-to-March quarter.
The higher estimate for economic growth mostly reflected a slight improvement in
the nation's trade deficit, which was less of a drag on growth than the
government previously thought. More brisk spending on housing projects also
helped.
GDP, the broadest barometer of the economy's fitness, measures the value of all
goods and services produced within the United States.
(This is a
story about the GDP, yet the AP Chose to add new claims for Unemployment in the
Headline... Classic! - tha malcontent)
The new reading is close to the 3.6 percent growth rate that economists were
forecasting before the release of the GDP report.
The 3.5 percent pace clocked in the first quarter of this year � while better
than an initial calculation for the quarter � still represented some slowing
from the 3.8 percent pace seen in the final quarter of 2004. Higher energy
prices and borrowing costs did make consumers and businesses a bit cautious in
the first quarter, the main reason for the moderation in overall economic growth
compared with the previous quarter.
(The 3.8%
growth of the Final Quarter wasn't painted Positively when it was happening, and
now it's being used to downgrade the current 3.5% Growth. This same period
in Clinton's Second Term showed 3.1% Growth... I wonder how the AP painted that
picture? - tha malcontent)
However, recent economic reports have suggested that the economy, which hit a
rough patch in March, is bouncing back.
(However, to
the distaste of the American Left, the Economy is not only "bouncing back" from
a ONE MONTH minimal slowdown in Growth, not negative Growth as is being
portrayed by the AP, but it has been Consistently Growing at a Healthy rate, and
producing millions of new Jobs, for YEARS now! - tha malcontent)
Importantly, employers boosted payrolls in April by 274,000, a noticeable
improvement from the lackluster 146,000 new jobs generated in March. The
employment report for May will be released by the government next week, and
economists are forecasting a gain of around 175,000, which would be respectable
but not spectular job growth.
(Jeannine was
too busy talking the Economy down to spell "Spectacular" correctly apparently! -
tha malcontent)
In other economic news Thursday, the Labor Department said new claims for
unemployment insurance rose by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 323,000 last week.
Even with the increase, the level of claims still points to an improving job
market, analysts said.
("Even
with the increase, the level of claims still points to an improving job market",
yet the AP just slaps it in the Headline for a GDP story as if it is bad news...
I can't make this TRIPE up! - tha malcontent)
President Bush wants the job market, the overall economy and certainly the
financial markets to be on sound footing as he sells his overhaul of Social
Security, which would allow workers to set up personal investment accounts in
stocks and bonds.
Federal Reserve policy-makers, who believed the economic slowdown in March was
probably "transitory," have expressed more concern about the prospects of rising
inflation.
To prevent inflation from becoming a problem, the Fed has boosted short-term
interest rates eight times � each in modest quarter-point increments � since
last June. Analysts predict the Fed will raise rates again at its next meeting
at the end of June and into much of this year.
An inflation gauge tied to the GDP report and closely monitored by the Fed
showed prices � excluding food and energy � rising at a rate of 2.2 percent in
the first quarter. While that was the same as previously estimated for the
quarter, it did represent a pickup from the 1.7 percent rate of increase in the
fourth quarter.
High energy prices have forced many economists to lower their projections for
economic growth. The economy in the current April-to-June quarter is expected to
expand anywhere from a 2.8 percent to 3.5 percent pace, according to some
analysts' estimates before the release of Thursday's GDP report. Some earlier
forecasts had put growth for the quarter closer to a 4 percent pace.
Oil prices soared into record territory in March and hit a new closing high of
$57.27 a barrel at the beginning of April. Prices have eased since and hover $50
a barrel.
(When Oil went
from $50 to $57 a barrel, the AP and the "Free Press" were screaming at the top
of their lungs about how bad Bush (43) was doing, and he should tap the SOR for
relief... Compare that with the coverage that the decrease in the price of Oil
from $57 to $50 a barrel has received! And J, it's "hover AT $50 a
barrel", not "hover $50 a barrel"... Way too eager to talk the Economy down, eh
J! - tha malcontent)
Consumer spending in the first quarter grew at a 3.6 percent pace. That was up a
bit from the government's initial estimate of a 3.5 percent growth rate but down
from the fourth quarter's 4.2 percent pace.
Business investment in equipment and software increased at a 5.6 percent pace in
the first quarter. That was down from a previous estimate of a 6.9 percent
growth rate and marked a big deceleration from the hot 18.4 percent pace of
spending seen in the fourth quarter.
One measure of after-tax profits in the GDP report showed profit growth losing
ground in the first quarter. They grew by 1 percent, compared with a hefty 12.5
percent increase in the fourth quarter.
Housing activity, meanwhile, powered ahead in the first quarter, stoked by still
fairly low mortgage rates.
(Record numbers
in Housing... That really pisses the Left off! More Blacks own Homes under a
REPUBLICan than at any other time in History! - tha malcontent)
Spending on residential projects increased at a brisk 8.8 percent rate in the
first quarter. That exceeded an initial estimate of a 5.7 percent pace of
spending for the quarter and was up from a 3.4 percent growth rate logged in the
fourth quarter.
The trade deficit didn't weigh as much on economic growth in the first quarter
as previously estimated. The deficit shaved nearly 0.7 percentage point off GDP
in the first quarter, compared with an initially estimated 1.49 percentage-point
reduction.
(Wow, this Economy really sucks... I can't believe I Voted for this Idiot twice. I wish we had the Unemployment rate of the DemocRATS favorite two anti-American Countries who used to be "Allies", Germany and France... Both are over 10% Unemployment. What are we doing wrong? Why can't we return to the Slowdown of 2000 and Recession of 2001 that Clinton Left?... Back when job losses started... Why can't we go back to those good old days? - tha malcontent)
� Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All
rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
(That depends on what the meaning of "may" is... All commentary included on this website is the opinion of tha malcontent and is based in the Truth. No Liberals, Marxists, Stalinists, Socialists, Communists or DemocRATS were harmed in the making of this website, I promise! - tha malcontent)
Don't do what you're polled to do!�
This web site is designed, maintained and edited by tha malcontent...
"what have you done for Liberty today?"
associalisticpress.com� is protected speech pursuant to the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and is faithfully enforced by tha malcontent via the Second Amendment to that same Constitution. Any reproduction or redistribution of this article will be seen as an awakening of a Patriot in this Great Republic by tha malcontent, and subsequently applauded!
Copyright � 1994-2005 associalisticpress.com� /americanfreepress.org� - All rights reserved.
associalisticpress.com/tha malcontent�
an americanfreepress� organization 1994-2005
tha malcontent... The Original Gangster of the Pajamahidin
The ap� & The afp�
- the Liberty Project� -
HOME PAGE | The ap archives | Contact the ap | ap Retractions | tha malcontent