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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Thursday the U.S. economy was pulling away from the shoals of a sharp housing-sector downturn and that the outlook for growth was "reasonably good." "Most of the negatives in housing are probably behind us," Greenspan said at a conference sponsored by the Commercial Finance Association "The fourth quarter should be reasonably good, certainly better than the third quarter." The government reports on third-quarter economic growth on Friday. After shooting ahead at a 5.6 percent annual clip at the start of the year, the economy advanced only 2.6 percent in...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A slowing economy will cut U.S. tax revenue growth from its surprisingly robust pace of the past year, but the federal budget deficit could still shrink a bit further in fiscal 2007, some economists say. Much depends on how quickly and deeply the economy brakes in coming months, and how this affects corporate earnings -- a big driver behind the 22.3 percent reduction in the deficit to $247.7 billion in fiscal 2006, a figure announced by the Bush administration last week. "As long as we don't find new things to spend money on and we have moderately...

THE ORDINARY NERVOUSNESS of investors and market watchers has been converted into advanced paranoia by the business media's preference for bad news. Consider this headline in the Wall Street Journal: "Economy's Surge Stirs Questions About When Slowdown May Come".Share prices are driven to a six-year high by rising corporate profits and commentators trot out stories about bubbles and irrational exuberance, the latter a phrase used by then-chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Alan Greenspan to describe share prices--after which they doubled. Germany and Japan finally shake off their decades-long economic lethargy and show signs of recovery, and all talk is...

Despite a great deal of pessimism, the US economy is booming. Real GDP grew by 4.8% in the first quarter, while "core" real GDP (consumer spending plus fixed investment) expanded at a 6.4% annualized rate. Excluding the volatile transportation sector, durable goods new orders surged 2.8% in March and are up 9.6% in the past year. Sales of both new and existing homes exceeded expectations in March, while commercial and industrial loans have expanded at a 14.5% annual rate during the first three months of 2006. For April, Wal-Mart blew away expectations and reported 6.8% same-store sales increases.The reasons for...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed the barrier 11,000. The media has a way of describing this. We have put together a montage: Fox News Channel, ABC News, CBS News, CBS This Morning, CBS, NBC. Note here, there's a single word that all of these anchors and info babes and reporters used to describe the Dow breaking 11,000. CHRIS WALLACE: We certainly understand it to be an important psychological mark. REBECCA GOMEZ: It's a psychological milestone. MELLODY HOBSON: There's nothing magical about 11,000. It's more psychological. BOB SCHIEFFER: Wall Street reached a psychological milestone today....

The strong data on jobs, growth, and even house prices belie the naysayersTo paraphrase Bob Dylan, you don't need a Wall Street economist to know which way the economy is blowing. For weeks, the experts have worked themselves into a cold sweat worrying about inflation, aftereffects of the killer hurricanes, oil prices, avian flu, and the prospect of the red-hot housing market turning white cold. Rest easy. Things are nowhere near as bad as the worrywarts would have you believe, if recent bountiful economic data are any indication. Indeed, firms add-ed a rock-solid 215,000 jobs in November, the government reported...

December 05, 2005, 9:10 a.m. Bush Boom Continues Unabated The impressive GDP story is a tale of a tax cut. By Jerry Bowyer (The chart was here - please see article a NRO please) Last week, the growth of gross domestic product was revised upward for the third quarter from an above-average 3.8 percent to a robust 4.3 percent. This level of growth is higher than the averages for the last 10, 20, and 30 years, making it impressive even if it had not come in the face of high energy prices and a series of devastating natural disasters. In...

Will someone please explain why the Bush White House and the Republican Congress are not trumpeting this economic boom on a daily basis? Their polls are sagging, but the economy is soaring. This simply shouldn’t be.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. economic growth was much stronger last quarter than first thought as spending rose more than estimated, while divergent price data on Wednesday left economists puzzled over inflation pressures. Gross domestic product, a measure of all goods and services produced within U.S. borders, grew at a revised 4.3 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the fastest pace since the first three months of 2004, the Commerce Department said. Growth had initially been reported at 3.8 percent. The report also showed inflation was milder than first thought. A price gauge favored by the Federal Reserve -- personal...

RUSH: So Mr. Snerdley comes in today, folks, and he says, "This economy has to be humming." Well, there's no question that it's humming. His definition of a humming economy is he can't find an X-Box 360. He went out there and tried to find an X-Box 360, the new one. The base price is between three and four hundred dollars, and with other bundles thrown in there, it's between eight and nine hundred dollars. Some are listed now by a grand by resellers online because there's such a demand for these things. He can't find one. I said, "You...

Former GE Chairman and business management guru Jack Welch has some advice for President George W. Bush: Start bragging about the economy. Welch told Fox News Channel that President Bush has much to be proud of with regard to the economy, but he has to get out there and sell himself - and his accomplishments - to the American people to let them know about it. "President Bush put a tax bill through that supported capital formation and risk taking,” Welch said. "We’ve created 2 million jobs a year after the 9/11 attacks. That’s a remarkable accomplishment. Bush has to...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of new U.S. homes jumped 6.5 percent to a record high in July, defying economists' expectations for a decline, as purchases soared in the Northeast and West and median prices dropped, a government report showed on Wednesday. The Commerce Department said new single-family home sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.410 million units from a downwardly revised 1.324 million unit rate in June. The July sales pace was 27.7 percent higher than a year earlier. Economists had expected new home sales to drop to a 1.333 million unit pace from June's originally reported...

Better than expected. That is the headline being given to the progress of the US economy. Last year the deficit was a humiliating 3.6 per cent of gross domestic product. The deficit this year, new numbers suggest, will be 2.7 per cent of GDP - acceptable. The difference? Extra revenues. It seems federal revenues for this year will be $85bn (47bn Pounds) higher than anyone was predicting as recently as March. Growth, too, may be stronger than expected, remaining above 3 per cent. Unemployment? Some forecasters now believe it will dive deep into the mid-4 per cent range.These data are...

In July 207,000 jobs were created, above expectations, and the unemployment rate held steady at 5.0% Upward revisions for May and June as well.

Hiring around the country picked up slightly in June with employers adding 146,000 jobs — helping to push the unemployment rate down to 5 percent, the lowest in nearly four years. The latest snapshot of the nation's jobs climate, released by the Labor Department on Friday, supported the view of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and his colleagues that the labor market continues to improve gradually. The modest payroll gain of 146,000 jobs in June was up from 104,000 net jobs added in May. Payroll growth for both April and May turned out to be better than the government previously...

Well, have you heard the news? "After three years of rising federal budget deficits, a surge of April tax receipts brought unexpected good news to fiscal policymakers -- the tide of government red ink appears to be receding. The Treasury Department this week reported..." This is how much money we're talking about. "The Treasury Department this week reported there would be a $54 billion swing from projected deficit to surplus in the April-to-June quarter, after an unanticipated gush of tax payments poured into the Treasury before the April 15 deadline. That prompted private forecasters to lower their deficit projections for...

Congressional Town Halls Elevating Social Security Discussion, Economic Indicators Reach Historic Thresholds And President Bush Makes Historic Trip ________________________________________________________________________________   Congressional Town Hall Meetings Elicit Praise For President Bush's Efforts To Strengthen Social Security:  The President's Positive Message Changes Perceptions On Social Security During Town Hall Events:   Pennsylvania Kerry Voter Jennifer Claus Converted On Social Security After Hearing Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) Speak: "I liked his idea of ownership... I was very pleased by the presentation. ... I feel the current system is stable, but if you do look at the number of people coming into the program and...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pace of U.S. worker productivity growth slowed at the end of 2004 and claims for jobless aid dipped last week, according to reports raising both job-growth hopes and inflation concerns. Separate reports on Thursday tempered the optimism as growth in the huge U.S. services sector cooled a bit last month while factory orders rose a mere 0.3 percent in December. Nonfarm business productivity, or worker output per hour, grew at an annual rate of just 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter, falling from the third quarter's 1.8 percent rate and the smallest advance since a drop...

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Web search leader Google Inc. posted quarterly earnings on Tuesday that blew past expectations on strong Web search advertising, driving its share price up almost 10 percent to a record high. The earnings were seven times higher than a year earlier on revenue that doubled to more than $1 billion. The news also lifted shares of rival Internet companies Yahoo Inc. and Ask Jeeves Inc., setting the tone for a possible tech rally on Wednesday. "Our international businesses are essentially on fire," said Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, who added that Britain led growth, but that...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended the last day of 2004 slightly down on Friday, but the main U.S. indexes posted their second successive year of gains following a fourth-quarter rally. In light trading, a late flurry of profit-taking pulled the indexes lower, after a rebound in steel stocks had offered support earlier in the session. Shares of drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co., manufacturer of antidepressant drug Prozac, fell 1.3 percent to $56.75. The British Medical Journal said it has sent documents to U.S. regulators that it said appear to suggest a link between Prozac and suicidal behavior. The...

The US economy probably grew at a rate of 3.7% in the third quarter of 2004. Details to come...

"USATODAY/CNN/GALLUP: Among likely voters - Bush 52% - Kerry 44% NEWSWEEK: Among likely voters - Bush 50% - Kerry 44% And look at the Battleground states - FLORIDA - Bush +3 (27 EVs) OHIO - Bush +2 (20 EVs) NEW MEXICO - Bush +3 (5 EVs) OREGON - Bush +5 (7 EVs) IOWA - TIED (7 EVs) NEW JERSEY - TIED (16 EVs) (MoE 4.9 - Gore won 16) WISCONSIN - Kerry +1 (10 EVs) (MoE 4.5 - Gore won 1) PENNSYLVANIA - Kerry +1 (21 EVs) (MoE 4 - Gore won 4.5) MAINE - Kerry +2 (4 EVs) (MoE...

Already some economic commentators are talking about President Bush's boom and how it will exceed Clinton's boom. This view demonstrates that when it comes to economics and economic there is a remarkably flat learning curve. Let's take quick look at the Clinton economy. Media commentators at the time claimed that "the economy has entered a new era", others claimed that a "new epoch in economics" had arrived. These Pollyanna statements were not isolated headlines designed to grab readers' attention but the result of an inability to understand what was happening to the American economy. Unfortunately, in this respect these commentators...

jobs were created in August. The unemployment rate edgged down at 5.4% Upward revisions Details to come...

32,000 jobs were created in July. The unemployment rate down at 5.5% Details to come... ouch

Manufacturing Activity Expands For 14th Consecutive Month.  "U.S. manufacturing expanded for the 14th consecutive month in July, boosted by new orders and higher production, the Institute for Supply Management said Monday. The institute said its manufacturing index registered 62.0 last month, up from 61.1 in June." (Eileen Alt Powell, "Manufacturing Activity Increases In July," The Associated Press, 8/2/04)Manufacturing Sector Continues Rapid Growth.  "'The manufacturing sector continues to grow at a rapid rate,' Norbert J. Ore, chairman of the institute's survey committee, said in a statement accompanying the report. 'The growth of new orders and production accelerated during the month, adding...

WASHINGTON DC - The new manufacturing numbers out today point to more economic record-setting news. The Manufacturers Alliance reported that its Business Outlook index rose to 80 its highest point since 1972. An index above 50 indicates expansion anything below 50 indicates shrinkage. The figures are based on surveys with manufacturing executives from a whole range of industries. The index is pointing to an increase in manufacturing activity for the next three months. Executives were asked to compare product orders from April, May and June for the same time period of 2003. 90% of the respondents stated that new orders...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - It is shaping up to be the best year for initial public offerings since the mania of 2000, with deals in the first half of 2004 surpassing those done in all of 2003. This year, 88 U.S. IPOs have raised $16.23 billion, compared with 10 deals that raised $2.33 billion in the same period last year, according to preliminary figures compiled on Thursday by Thomson Financial. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MWD - news) ranked as the top bookrunner for first half of the year, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS - news) came in second and J.P. Morgan...

State-by-State Jobs Data June 18 the government released May jobs figures for states across the country - and the news is good. According to statistics released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), job creation was up in 44 of the 50 states in the last year, and the unemployment rate was down in all regions and in 46 of the 50 states. Nationwide, the economy has posted steady job gains for each of the last nine months - creating more than 1.4 million new jobs since August. The national unemployment rate stood at 5.6% in May - down 0.7...

WASHINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) - Recent hiring in the United States is swelling the ranks in industries that pay more than the average income, U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Wednesday. When asked about the quality of the jobs now appearing after a long hiring dearth, Snow told the C-SPAN television network: "The analysis that we have indicates that the jobs that are being created are being created in the industries that pay above average." Pressed by a viewer on whether the jobs being created are comparable in terms of income to those lost under the Bush administration, Snow...

New York, New York THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much, and thank you, Dick, for those kind remarks. That was a long time ago when we served together in the Ford White House and you worked for one of my predecessors. And I often think about the job of the vice president, as Dick pointed out, your only real job is to preside over the Senate. When they wrote the Constitution, they got down to the end of the Constitutional Convention, they decided they hadn't given the vice president anything to...

National Jobs Data May's increase in employment remained strong and above market expectations. 248,000 new jobs were created in May - and the increases in April and March were revised upward 58,000 and 16,000 respectively, for a combined upward revision of 74,000 new jobs. The economy has posted steady job gains for each of the last nine months -- with nearly one million new jobs in the last 3 months alone. An average of over 257,000 jobs per month has been created since the beginning of this year. The household survey shows a similar increase in jobs, up 1.5 million...

PowerPoint SlidesMemo & Slides (PDF) President George W. Bush has provided steady leadership in the face of remarkable change. The President’s positive and ambitious agenda has made our nation safer, stronger and better. The past three and a half years have tested our nation. The American people have responded with strength, optimism and resolve to grow the economy, strengthen our communities, and protect our nation from the threat of global terror. America’s economy is strong and growing stronger. We have overcome the triple shock of terrorist attacks, corporate scandals, and recession. We have overcome the challenges of being a...

288,000 jobs were created in April. The unemployment rate down at 5.6% Details to come...

<p>May 6 (Bloomberg) -- The number of Americans filing initial claims for jobless benefits dropped to 315,000 last week, the fewest since October 2000, a government report showed.</p> <p>Initial applications fell by 25,000 in the week that ended Saturday from 340,000, the Labor Department said in Washington. The number of people continuing to collect state jobless benefits declined to 2.935 million in the week that ended April 24, the lowest since June 2001. The statistics are reported with a one- week lag to initial claims.</p>

Today's Action The American economy grew at a strong pace of 4.2 percent during the first quarter of 2004 - well above the historical average. Economic growth over the last three quarters has been the fastest in nearly 20 years, at a 5.5 percent annual rate that would double the size of the economy in 13 years. President Bush's Actions Are Helping to Fuel Our Economic Recovery The President's Jobs and Growth tax relief package helped fuel the strong improvement in our economy. It raised the level of economic activity and productivity, which will result in higher incomes and living...

The US economy grew at a rate of 4.2% in the first quarter of 2004. Details to come...

Jobless claims decline to 328,000 in latest week from 342,000 in prior week. Details coming.

The Institute for Supply Management reported Friday that its manufacturing index jumped to 66.2 in December from 62.8 the previous month, strong evidence that the economic turnaround continues to pick up steam. The new figure was the highest since December 1983 for a sector that has shed millions of jobs over the past three years. The reading, which marks the sixth consecutive month of expansion in manufacturing, was significantly higher than the 61 forecast by analysts. An index reading above 50 indicates expansion; one below 50 indicates that manufacturing activity is contracting. From March through June, the manufacturing index was...

It was a merry Christmas for Sharper Image and Neiman Marcus, which reported big sales increases over last year's holiday season. It was considerably less cheery at Wal-Mart and other low-priced chains. We don't know the final sales figures yet, but it's clear that high-end stores did very well, while stores catering to middle- and low-income families achieved only modest gains. Based on these reports, you may be tempted to speculate that the economic recovery is an exclusive party, and most people weren't invited. You'd be right. Commerce Department figures reveal a startling disconnect between overall economic growth, which has...

<p>The latest batch of government economic data reveals a new theme: inflation-free boom. It's a business-led scenario this country hasn't seen in many years, and it could mean another 8- to 10-year prosperity cycle is on the way.</p> <p>Illustrating the renaissance in American business investment and production, the S&P industrials sub-index has gained nearly 10 percent just since September. The November industrial-production report published by the Federal Reserve Board surged spectacularly above expectations, while production figures for the prior two months were revised upward. Since August, industrial production has grown at an outsized 7.8 percent annual rate.</p>

<p>The booming U.S. economy is being fueled by what appears to be the most stimulative set of economic policies in U.S. history. Monetary policy is more accommodative than it has been since the mid-1970s. The Bush tax cuts were the most pro-growth of any since 1981. This stimulus, combined with technology-driven increases in productivity, should boost 2004 real GDP by 5% and create three million new jobs next year alone.</p>

DOW 10,000! On Tuesday the Dow Jones Industrial Average breached the symbolic 10,000 mark for the first time since May of 2002!! The Dow is up 34.73 points   When reached for comment, Tom Daschle was said to be, "Deeply Saddened"     

<p>Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- The boom was just a little late in coming, that's all.</p> <p>The first day of the final month of the year produced a blowout report on manufacturing. The Institute for Supply Management's closely watched factory index leapt 5.8 points to a 20-year high of 62.8 in November, with 18 of the 20 industries reporting an increase in activity.</p>

The Bush Boom: How a 'Misunderestimated' President Fixed Our Broken Economy By Jerry Bowyer Jerry Bowyer website Forgive the vanity, but I wanted to give a head's up to a book I've found VERY usefull in debating the ratz recently, especially here in the socialist cesspool of Western Pennsylvania. FYI, Jerry Bowyer is a local, conservative morning radio host on WPTT (1360AM, Pittsburgh), but has done a lot more for the cause through The Allegheny Insitute think tank as well as writing several books backing conservativism. His latest - well I think it's his latest, he's very prolific - is...

A lot happened in Iraq and in the 2004 Democratic Presidental Nomination battle this weekend, but it is all going to be politically overshadowed by the economic growth numbers due Thursday.When the Gross Domestic Product for the July September quarter is announced Thursday, it is expected to show that the economy barreled forward at a rate of 6 or perhaps even 7%--a performance unmatched since the glory days of the 1990's internet economic boom..Although growth is likely to slow somewhat between now and the end of this year, most analysts think it will be strong enough to ensure a second...

THE economy is growing again, thanks in part to President Bush's tax cuts, but high productivity has been keeping unemployment high -- until lately. Just last month and this, there have been signs that things are getting better. Small signs, but important signs. In September, the number of net jobs in the economy went up for the first time since early in the year. The number wasn't huge, just 57,000, but the positive direction gave economists hope. Then last week, there were fewer people putting in claims for unemployment insurance than anytime since early in the year. The high productivity...