Financial News for July 30th, 2007
The economy grew at a 3.4% pace in the second quarter, a big improvement over the 0.6% showing in the first three months of 2007 and better than the 3.2% growth rate economists were expecting, the Commerce Department reported July 27. Also in the second quarter, core prices — excluding food and energy — rose at a rate of just 1.4%, sharply down from a 2.4% pace in the first quarter and the smallest increase in four years.
Meanwhile, consumer sentiment registered 90.4 in July, a shade below the median forecast of 91.2, but well ahead of June’s reading of 85.3, a 10-month low. The gain was tied to consumers’ favorable outlook about the economy, particularly regarding future employment and income prospects, the Reuters/University of Michigan Survey of Consumers said July 27.