Economic Momentum ?? = Sputtering > Data Tells The Story Re/ U.S. GDP Growth

The U.S. economy barely grew Q4 2015 finishing the year like it had started and stoking concern about its momentum in 2016 . . . Little more than a month ago, some cheer-leading economists thought growth was running at more than twice that pace, but data shows it's hardly above zero at 0.7%. . . expectations for the coming quarters have been drifting lower as weaker data for the fourth quarter of 2015 has accumulated.

That's the report from the Commerce Department today. The Wall Street Journal said it is  "a sign of flagging momentum amid global weakness and financial market turmoil."

The latest reading concludes another year of steady [?], but unspectacular, growth.
For all of 2015, GDP expanded 2.4%, the same as 2014 and roughly in line with the 2.1% average since 2010, the first full year after the recession.
 

What is less clear [the image to the left of DJIA from FRED might help you see the dip in a possible deep dive]  is whether the fourth quarter was another dip that will be followed by a rebound—as has happened several times since the recession ended in mid-2009—or whether it signals a more persistent sputtering.
It is "unusually uncertain" to borrow a phrase from former Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke. Get your life-jackets ready!.

National Income and Product Accounts
Gross Domestic Product: Fourth Quarter and Annual 2015 (Advance Estimate)

EMBARGOED UNTIL RELEASE AT 8:30 A.M. EST, Friday, January 29, 2016 BEA 16—04

The Bureau emphasized that the fourth-quarter advance estimate released today is based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision --- readers will note by looking at the image to the left that 2nd revisions of quarterly GDP estimates [next one due Feb 26, 2016] are lower . . . how much lower than 0.7% can you go?

Here's what the regular "slices of the pie" look likeThe deceleration in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected a deceleration in PCE and downturns in nonresidential fixed investment, in exports, and in state and local government spending that were partly offset by a smaller decrease in private inventory investment, a deceleration in imports, and an acceleration in federal government spending.

There's a navigation bar at the right side of the news release text for links to data tables,
contact personnel and their telephone numbers, and supplementary materials.

http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdpnewsrelease.htm

Take a look at the image to the right from 2014 to gauge the relative performance of metropolitan areas with overall data.
 

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