You Got to Ac-centuate the Positive, E-liminate the Negative
October 11, 2007
Trade Deficit Narrowed in August
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
The trade deficit narrowed in August to its lowest level since January as a weaker dollar bolstered export sales to record levels and the cost of non-energy imports dipped, the government reported today.
The gap between what Americans import and export shrank 2.4 percent in August, to $57.6 billion, beating analysts’ expectations, the Commerce Department said. The July deficit was revised lower, to $59 billion, a drop of about $250 million.
“Short term, it’s good news,” said Gregory Miller, the chief economist at Suntrust Banks. “We have an improving trade deficit, and exports continue to provide underlying strength for economic growth.”
But in the long term, Mr. Miller said, strong export sales could suggest that producers are selling products overseas because domestic sales are weakening. “Our underlying domestic growth is weakening relative to overseas growth,” he said.
--the entire nonsensical article--
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. . . latch on to the affirmative, don't mess with Mr. In Between.
The nation is resolutely going broke at the rate of $2 billion a day and that is celebrated as a narrowing of the gap.
To put that in perspective, think of the newly installed Indian observation deck on the west edge of the Grand Canyon as having narrowed the canyon.
We are down to a shortfall of a mere two thousand million dollars a day. Every day. No Saturdays, Sundays or holidays off. $83 million an hour.
We Americans have willingly put ourselves into the hands of lunatics and children, who give us bread and circuses as our culture and our nation falls into disrepair.
Meanwhile, imports fell 0.4 percent, to $195.9 billion, as Americans purchased more apparel, crude oil and semiconductors.
Well--that puts the whole matter into proper perspective--how can I have been so shortsighted as to be worried?
* For more in-depth articles by Jim on Business and Economy, check out Opinion-Columns.com