Day-um! That GDP revision could have been even worse

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

My personal experience living in one of the most recession-proof areas was that the malls were ghost-towns during Christmas season. Not merely slow, but dead.

So the revision of Q4-2008 from -3.2 to -6.2 (I don't remember the precise #s but that's close) was no big surprise.

But since GDP includes trade balance factors the actual consumer activity was in reality even worse, and pretty much in line with what we all experienced.

1) Consumers stop buying anything. 2) We import more than we export. So the average thing the consumer is not buying is imported. That reduces the trade deficit and gives an ironic boost to GDP.

Without the import/export bonus the GDP revision would have been worse.

Taken altogether American consumer activity in Q4 dropped an annualized 9%.

Now THAT is a number.



(Based on listening to TV bobble-heads, so no link.)

[uponit7771]

1. That's crazy!!!! That's a lot of dough, I think the savings rate went up to 5% or something...