Now that the long, cold winter is fading into the past, spring is bringing warmth as well as growth to the US economy. According to the government, the US economy saw 4.6 percent annualized growth during the 2nd quarter of 2014, compared to a 2.1 percent slowdown in the first quarter. Analysts expressed optimism that the data bodes well for the economic growth for the rest of the year.
The announced GDP numbers were even better than that predicted 4.2 percent growth projected one month ago. The new data reflects improvements in business investments and exports. Analysts at JP Morgan foresee a 3 percent growth in GDP in 2015, a serious improvement over the growth rates of previous years which hovered in the vicinity of only 2 percent ever since the recession ended in June, 2009.
Policymakers at the Federal Reserve made a decision last week to keep an important short-term interest rate close to zero, close to record lows, for a “considerable time” into the foreseeable future.