The actual numbers from the Commerce Department are not out until January 30th. Yet both Bloomberg and Marketwatch are reporting a 5.5% annual rate drop in GDP for Q4.
Gross domestic product contracted at a 5.5 percent annual rate from October through December, the biggest drop since 1982, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey ahead of Commerce Department figures due Jan. 30.
Real economic activity fell off a cliff during the fourth quarter, producing a sharp drop in employment, output and spending," wrote economists at Wachovia.
And the worst part is that it's not over. Economists expect another huge decline in the first quarter, with a smaller contraction in the second quarter
Recent comments