Economic Growth
Posted at 12:28am on Jun. 27, 2008 All Hail Free Trade
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
It appears to be working to keep us from a recession. I have to wonder anew why some politicians want to put the brakes on it.
Posted at 6:09pm on Jun. 26, 2008 As Glenn Reynolds Would/Eventually Will Put It . . .
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
The economy turned in a better -- but still subpar -- performance in the first three months of this year, mostly spurred by stronger sales of U.S. products overseas.
The 1 percent annualized increase in gross domestic product, announced by the Commerce Department on Thursday, marked a slight improvement from the government's previous estimate of 0.9 percent growth for the January-to-March quarter. And, it showed the economy logging stronger growth than the feeble 0.6 percent pace registered in the final three months of last year.
Still, the first quarter's performance pointed to a fragile economy, shaken by housing, credit and financial debacles. That has made people and businesses more cautious in their spending and investment, restraining overall economic activity. More normal growth would be along the lines of a 2.5 percent to 3 percent pace, analysts said.
Obviously, no one thinks that this is ideal. But a recession it ain't so perhaps we can stop with the talk that this is the worst economic crisis since the days of Herbert Hoover. That kind of melodrama won't solve any problems for us.
Posted in Economic Growth | Economy — Comments (1)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 1:51am on Apr. 1, 2008 For Those Searching For A Scapegoat
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
I understand that economic downturns make people grumpy. And I understand that grumpy people are on the lookout to take their anger out on someone or something. And I understand as well that anger stemming from the current economic downturn may well be focused towards free trade, with demagogues like Lou Dobbs explaining why free trade is likely the cause of all our economic problems--not to mention the reason why you had to have a root canal last week.
Trouble is that blaming free trade for the current economic downturn is precisely the wrong way to go. Daniel Griswold explains why.
Betcha his writing won't land him as a guest on CNN anytime soon. It may be just as well. Lou Dobbs doesn't take well to people who don't mindlessly parrot his party line, after all.
Posted in Economic Growth | Economy | Free Trade | Protectionism — Comments (2)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 5:20pm on Dec. 28, 2007 "Slow-But-Steady"
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
We might be in for some economic growth after all:
A measure of U.S. business activity unexpectedly rose this month as new orders increased and companies reduced stockpiles of unsold goods.
The National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said today its business barometer rose to 56.6 from 52.9 in November. Figures greater than 50 signal growth.
Orders from overseas may help sustain growth in manufacturing even as U.S. demand wanes, economists said. That would help the economy weather the housing recession and an expected slowdown in consumer spending.
``Factory demand recovered a little bit, at least in the Chicago region,'' said Omair Sharif, an economist at RBS Greenwich Capital in Greenwich, Connecticut. ``Slow-but-steady is probably the best way to characterize factory growth right now.''
