Greatest crisis since the Great Depression?
Clearly, the economic situation isn’t great but keep these statistics in mind: during the Great Depression GDP fell 30%, unemployment exceeded 20%, wholesale prices declined 33% and industrial production plummeted close to 50%.
The latest complete information available showed real GDP up 2.8% on an annualized basis in the second quarter, the unemployment rate at 6.1%, wholesale prices up 9.6% from 12 months ago, and industrial production down just 1.5% from 12 months ago.
Any attempt to draw comparisons between the current economic environment and the Great Depression is utter nonsense.
What is known of the current situation is that unemployment is rising, consumer spending is sluggish, industrial production is slipping, and housing remains in a slump.
Export growth, however, has been strong, business investment has been rather resilient, and the government… well, the government continues to spend.
[from briefing.com – “top site from Wall Street professionals”]