Economy grew 2.1% in 2022, holding up through inflation and interest rate hikes

[mystery-ak]

Economy grew 2.1% in 2022, holding up through inflation and interest rate hikes
by Zachary Halaschak, Economics Reporter |
January 26, 2023 08:32 AM

The economy grew 2.1% in 2022, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday, a year marked first by recession fears and then by the largest burst of inflation in decades, which prompted a frantic campaign by the Federal Reserve to ease price pressures through interest rate hikes.

The numbers, adjusted for inflation, were driven by GDP growth in the second half of the year after the first half saw a contraction that led many to say that the economy had fallen into recession on President Joe Biden's watch. GDP growth for the fourth quarter clocked in at a 2.9% annual rate, the bureau said.

Last year’s GDP growth follows 2021’s gangbuster 5.9% GDP growth, which was so unusually high because it marked a year of reopening from the pandemic.

Some details of Thursday's report, though, suggest that underlying growth in the quarter was not as strong as the headline number made it out to be. Business additions of inventories, which is not indicative of future growth, boosted the headline growth rate by a full 1.46 percentage points. Meanwhile, business investment slowed, as did household spending. Housing construction cratered at nearly a 27% annual rate as the Fed's rate hikes take a massive toll on home buying and construction.

more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/economy-grew-2-1-in-2022-amid-barrage-of-interest-rate-hikes

[Gefn]

After a strong finish to 2022, the U.S. economy appears headed for a slowdown.

The economy showed surprising resilience at the end of last year, growing at a healthy clip despite the war in Ukraine and the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Forecasters say that growth is likely to slow, however, and possibly even reverse in the months to come, as consumers and businesses continue to deal with rising prices, as well as the Federal Reserve's aggressive push to boost interest rates.


https://www.npr.org/2023/01/26/1151320042/us-economy-recession-inflation-housing-spending-slowdown

[roamer_1]

Don't believe it... Watch for an adjustment in a diminutive article on page 56, far below the headlines... Somewhere around the middle to end of the second quarter.

That's how they play this - They lie like a rug in front of God and everybody, and then very quietly tell the truth, way after the fact, when the weight is off.

[Bigun]

Market Legend Jeremy Grantham Warns Of ‘Brutal Decline’ In 2023

Grantham predicted in a paper released Tuesday that the S&P 500 would be approximately 3,200 by the end of the year, which would be a near 20% full year decline.

“The range of problems is greater than it usually is — maybe as great as I’ve ever seen,” Grantham told Bloomberg News. “There are more things that can go wrong than there are that can go right. There’s a definite chance that things could go wrong and that we could have basically the system start to go completely wrong on a global basis.”

Grantham also told Bloomberg News there’s a chance the S&P 500 could hit 2,000, calling it a “brutal decline.” ...

Excerpt: Rest at headline link.

[DefiantMassRINO]