Was Q3 GDP Rigged Just In Time For The Election? Ep. 206

Published: Oct. 29, 2016, 11:09 p.m.

b"
\\n \\t* Yesterday we finally got the release of the initial estimate for Q4 GDP
\\n \\t* The Atlanta Fed had originally come out with an estimate of about 3.8 and had steadily reduced their estimate
\\n \\t* They got down as low as 1.9 before ratcheting it up a couple of times and their estimate was at 2.1 when we got the official release
\\n \\t* And the number came out at 2.9; not only much higher than Atlanta Fed's estimate, but much higher than the consensus forecast at 2.5
\\n \\t* I am very suspicious of this number
\\n \\t* This is the strongest number in over 2 years and it comes out less than 2 weeks before the election
\\n \\t* Of course one of Donald Trump's issues has been the weak GDP growth, which has averaged just 1% for the last 3 quarters
\\n \\t* All of a sudden it's 2/9?
\\n \\t* Does anybody really believe that suddenly the U.S. economy in the fall of 2016 was 3 times as strong as the last 3 quarters?
\\n \\t* I dont' think so.\\xa0 I don't believe that for a second
\\n \\t* I do believe that after the election when we get the revisions we will get a downward revision to this number
\\n \\t* But, even if this number were real; even if it holds up
\\n \\t* If you average the last 4 quarters to get the entire year, looking back, you're just below 1.5% for the entire year, which is still extremely weak growth
\\n \\t* Once you look beneath the surface of this 2.9, it's very easy to see how they rigged it, to use Donald Trump's expression
\\n \\t* Not that it's some kind of a conspiracy
\\n \\t* Look at these numbers - there was a 10% spike in exports - this the biggest gain in exports in 3 years
\\n \\t* It's not in manufactured products that we're exporting, where you've got some high-paying jobs
\\n \\t* It was primarily let by a one-time surge in soybean exports
\\n\\nOur Sponsors:\\n* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.com/ \\n\\nPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy"