This morning, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) announced its second take on 4th Quarter 2014 economic growth. After previously announcing a 2.6% number, it seems the BEA’s best guess this time is it grew at a 2.2% clip. What’s 0.4% among friends?
When you break down the data, several things become readily apparent: 1) military expenditures fell through the floor, and; 2) the private sector appears to be in reasonably healthy shape, and; 3) our net export situation is deteriorating.
The last point, perhaps, bears the most attention. Why? Well, our military expenditures are going to start to go up as we get more embroiled in the Middle East. The question isn’t whether we will have to ship more troops and equipment to Iraq; the question is: just how much more will we have to ship? As such, I fully anticipated military expenditures won’t continue to fall at an annualized 12.4% rate, as it did last quarter …Read On…
The opinions expressed within this report are those of John Norris as of the initial publication of this blog. They are subject to change without notice, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Oakworth Capital Bank, its directors, shareholders, and employees.