As expected, Chairman Bernanke was confirmed by the Senate. It wasn’t a close vote but it was the closest ever for a reconfirmation (70-30)
GDP rose much faster than expected due to (slower) inventory declines, not consumer spending.
From the WSJ
Gross domestic product rose a seasonally adjusted 5.7% annual rate October through December, the Commerce Department said Friday in its first estimate of fourth-quarter GDP.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast 4.8% GDP growth during the fall.
GDP has gone up two straight quarters, rising 2.2% in the third quarter after a year of contraction. In all of 2009, GDP fell 2.4%, the biggest drop for an entire year since 10.9% in 1946. GDP rose 0.4% in 2008 and 2.1% in 2007.
"Household spending is expanding at a moderate rate but remains constrained by a weak labor market, modest income growth, lower housing wealth, and tight credit," the Federal Open Market Committee of policymakers said this week.
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