The U.S. economy had a very good second quarter. According to the Commerce Department, gross domestic product grew at a 4% clip from April to June. And in a midterm year like 2014 that means … probably not much. The oft-repeated axiom in U.S. politics that “It’s the economy, stupid,” […] Read more »
No, the big GDP increase isn’t a golden ticket for Democrats
Good news on the economic front Wednesday morning: The Gross Domestic Product surged 4 percent in the second quarter of 2014, after dropping 2.1 percent in the first quarter. It’s good economic news that lands on top of continued monthly job growth, meaning that President Obama’s approval rating should move […] Read more »
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index Improves Again
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had improved in June, increased in July. The Index now stands at 90.9 (1985=100), up from 86.4 in June. The Present Situation Index increased to 88.3 from 86.3, while the Expectations Index rose to 92.7 from 86.4 in June. CONT. Conference Board Read more »
Economic Confidence Down Sharply From Last Week
Gallup’s U.S. Economic Confidence Index dropped six points last week to -21 — the largest one-week drop since last October, and the lowest weekly index score since December. Americans’ confidence in the economy’s future waned more than their views of the current conditions. CONT. Justin McCarthy, Gallup Read more »
Why Isn’t Obama More Popular?
… As I and many others have written, presidential popularity and national election results are strongly related to the performance of the economy. And the economy has actually been turning out fairly good numbers recently. Jobless claims are down and economic growth is surging. So why hasn’t this benefited Obama […] Read more »
Economy, Not Foreign Policy, Will Be Hillary’s Biggest Challenge in 2016
Given the horrible set of events unfolding overseas, it’s understandable that Hillary Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State is getting lots of attention. If she runs in 2016, we should expect to see attack ads featuring her handing the “reset” button to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. However, while foreign […] Read more »