Media Panic! The Economy's Spring Surprise! (As Explained Weeks Ago)

“Fears Rise That Economy May Falter in the Spring”; “Economic Reports Fan Fears”: Both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are going real big today on the surprising news that the economy might not be “good” over the next few months. Oh noes! What did we know and when did we know it!?

Well, on April 11th, Goldman Sachs published a U.S. Daily report headlined “A Road Map for Sluggish Q2 Growth,” which said pretty much the same thing, well in advance of the job numbers released yesterday: “After months of stronger-than-expected data, the US economy has started to lose momentum.” They also cite “sluggish consumer spending,” weak employment growth and “a notable acceleration in core inflation.”

“The United States is forecast to grow at a relatively sluggish pace of about 2.5 percent this year,” says the Times today. (Related: “Sticking with Sluggish,” was the headline on the Goldman Sachs report back on March 19th.) Everyone keeps saying SLUGGISH! Oh and really? 2.5% you say? Maybe for last month. “Looking ahead, our forecast of real GDP growth — which remains at just 2% for Q2 — looks for some additional loss of momentum during the next few months,” wrote Goldman Sachs nine days ago. So at least people who accuse the liberal media of just being mouthpieces for the big banking industry are wrong; they’re definitely not quick enough for that.