The Economy's Improving, Have a Cupcake

Reuters has one of those articles up this evening that you almost don’t want to see, it feels like a guilty pleasure just reading it…

A few months ago economists were all but certain the U.S. economy would slow sharply at the start of this year, with many warning that recession risks were growing.

That pessimism has been shaken off by a string of surprisingly solid data that paint a picture of an economy with building momentum.

The jobs market is picking up, manufacturing is accelerating and the service sector is also flexing its muscle…

“We were among those people that had been expecting growth to slow. It now seems a lot less likely,” said Jeremy Lawson, an economist at BNP Paribas in New York.

And the term self-sustaining is starting to be tossed around. Which makes me a bit uncomfortable.  Other terms that make me feel uncomfortable are “ring-fenced” and “priced-in”.

I don’t know – I feel and see signs of improvement all around me and the data is the data, but the Animal Spirits haven’t yet shown up outside of the stock market itself.  But my piece from the weekend about getting your shit together went viral and the response I’ve received has been tremendous – so maybe those Animal Spirits are stirring from a multi-year slumber even now.

Maybe.

Source:

Analysis: Fears of slowdown fade as economy shows some muscle (Reuters)

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Get Your Shit Together (TRB)