U.S. Economic Growth Slows In Q1, But Annual Pace Quickens

With Manufacturing PMI at multi-year lows and trending lower, why would anyone be surprised that, amid plunging profits in retailers and weakness in restaurant performance indices, Markit's preliminary Services PMI for April would bounce for the 2nd month in a row to  52.1. However, as Markit notes, despite th emodest pickup, "growth is clearly far more fragile than this time last year." Dead cat bounce?

By James Picerno: The U.S. economy grew at a real (inflation-adjusted) 1.5% (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the second quarter of 2012, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reports. That's roughly in line with consensus forecasts, but it's disappointing nonetheless. The economy's tepid 1.5% growth rate represents a slowdown from Q1's 2.0% pace and a world away from the 4.1% rate posted in last year's fourth quarter.

By RJS, a rural swamp denizen from Northeast Ohio, and a long-time commenter at Naked Capitalism. Originally published at MarketWatch 666.

By Doug Short: Earlier today we learned that the Second Estimate for Q4 real GDP came in at 0.13% (rounded to 0.1%), a fractional adjusted from the -0.1% in the Advance Estimate. Let's now review the numbers on a per-capita basis.

James Picerno submits: The U.S. economy expanded at an annualized 2% in the third quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reports. The rate of GDP increase for July through September is up slightly from Q2’s 1.7% pace, but still well below the 3.7% logged in this year’s first quarter or the robust 5.0% reading from last year’s final three-month stretch.

Shanghai (AFP) - China probably grew at its slowest pace since the depths of the global financial crisis in the third quarter, an AFP survey has found, confirming investor fears following stock market turmoil and a currency devaluation.

At a stunning pace of 608 words in just 4 minutes, The Wall Street Journal's Fed-Whisperer, Jon Hilsenrath, has proclaimed his "common knowledge" meme for today's FOMC statement. Confirming that officials "aren’t at this point alarmed about the first quarter slowdown," and in fact stating they are confident of spending picking up due to consumer sentiment (which just fell)... which leaves them signalling no shift in policy stance - i.e.

(WASHINGTON) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell last week to a seasonally adjusted 339,000, the second-lowest level in more than five years. The decline suggests hiring is improving from last month’s sluggish pace. Applications for unemployment benefits dropped by 16,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average declined 4,500 to 357,500. Applications are a proxy for layoffs. When they decline, it signals that companies are cutting fewer jobs. Still, layoffs are only half of the equation.