President Harry Truman is famed for asking "Give me a one-handed economist!" His lament was that economists always say "on the other hand." Today's economic news is a good example.
First, the GDP growth rate was revised upwards to 3.1%, which was better than expected. "On the other hand" shortly afterwards, consumer sentiment numbers were released, showing the lowest in a year. How is a person or even a President to read such numbers?
My take is that things continue to look good. GDP measures a much longer period, thus giving a better picture. Plus, the drop in consumer sentiment was so sharp that it looks suspicious. Today, I only need one hand . . . but tomorrow . . .who knows...??
The market seems to agree and is up 46 points at I type this. Keep up the good work!!
