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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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17

Economy Grows in Q3, Signals End of Recession

Tenuous 3.5% growth is best showing in two years

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(AP) – The economy grew at a 3.5% pace in the third quarter, the best showing in two years, fueled by government-supported spending on cars and homes. The Commerce Department's report today delivered the strongest signal yet that the economy entered a new, though fragile, phase of recovery and that the worst recession since the 1930s has ended.

The much-awaited turnaround ended the streak of four straight quarters of contracting economic activity, the first time that's happened on records dating to 1947. It also marked the first increase since the spring of 2008, when the economy experienced a short-lived uptick in growth. The third-quarter's performance—the strongest since right before the country fell into recession in December 2007—was slightly better than the 3.3% growth rate economists expected.

Job seekers line up in front of a Dollar General booth at a Little Rock, Ark., job fair. New jobless claims drop less than expected to 530,000 Thursday, Oct. 29, as labor market remains weak.
Job seekers line up in front of a Dollar General booth at a Little Rock, Ark., job fair. New jobless claims drop less than expected to 530,000 Thursday, Oct. 29, as labor market remains weak.   (Danny Johnston)
Joey Blevins, an unemployed iron worker from Sheridan, Ark., center, checks his resume while standing in line at a Little Rock, Ark., job fair.
Joey Blevins, an unemployed iron worker from Sheridan, Ark., center, checks his resume while standing in line at a Little Rock, Ark., job fair.   (Danny Johnston)
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17 comments
VIEWING:
 
Netstorm2k9
Oct 29, 09 8:12 AM CDT
LOL. The chocolate ration has risen to twenty grams, comrades. All hail Big Brother. Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
-4
IN RESPONSE:
dontlikeyou
Oct 29, 09 8:59 AM CDT
Bullshit. I am a business owner and I can tell you this economy is not growing, it is contracting. No one is spending money because they feel the economy is bad. Of course, if Pravda says the economy is growing, then all hail emperor obama.
Vote up! Vote down!
-4
IN RESPONSE:
RockyPneumonia
Oct 29, 09 9:33 AM CDT
dontlikeyou, you are, as you are wont to do, mistaking anecdotal evidence with hard data; it's perfectly possible that the economy is recovering without the effects of same being evident in one small sample, and there are many factors which might cause one business to lag behind a general recovery.
Vote up! Vote down!
+3
IN RESPONSE:
Netstorm2k9
Oct 29, 09 9:37 AM CDT
If the economy is finally healing, why is unemployment going up? It's the simple things that trip up liars.
Vote up! Vote down!
-3
IN RESPONSE:
RockyPneumonia
Oct 29, 09 9:38 AM CDT
No, it's the simple things that trip up simpletons. Economics is many things, but "simple" is not one of them, and "healing" is not the same as "healed".
Vote up! Vote down!
+5

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