Economic Notes for the Week of June 4th

As you might have expected, there is a lot to talk about this week.  So much so, that we turned this Weekly Review into a ‘Special Edition’ variety.

In the revised estimate, first quarter GDP growth was adjusted from 2.2% down to 1.9%.  This would probably not be as surprising or impactful in its own right, but coupled with more immediate May data, it made a negative dent on investor sentiment.  The details of the report included higher final sales, while consumer spending was revised down, as was government spending (a big part of this).  While disappointing, this data is now old news.  Second quarter growth is expected to be a bit better, but maybe not dramatically so.  Estimates have remained in the 2.0-3.0% range, although we very well could stay in the lower end of that for the time being. Read more