The Gross Domestic Product for the fourth quarter of 2013 was released this morning at 2.4%, way down from the 3rd quarter’s fiery 4.1%. The decline is due in part to lower export prices, but also to a decline in consumer spending. A survey by Edward Jones just found that on overwhelming percentage of Americans who receive a tax refund this year are planning on using it to pay for household
expenses or pay down debt. Only 8% of the respondents indicated that they would spend the refund on something unnecessarily fun
like entertainment. A GDP of 2.4% is more in line with the
Fed’s target range of 2.0-2.5%, and is good if you like low interest
rates.
