In the economy as in all domains, nothing is as it seems

DC bureaucrats were giddy with the good news that the GDP growth for the 1st quarter was reported at plus 0.6% when most everyone was expecting a negative number.

The bad news is a better barometer than the GDP is painting a much bleaker picture of the U.S. economy. “Final Sales to Domestic Purchasers” (FSDP), and that number actually FELL 0.4% — its first negative drop since 1991. Simply put, the FSDP measures how much money people are actually spending on stuff — it excludes items that are just added to inventory.