Pirate's Cove

Let’s start with the NY Times

U.S. Economy Shrank in First Quarter, in Reading Clouded by Messy Trade Data
Underlying economic growth remained solid in early 2025, but tariffs and uncertainty are expected to cause a further slowdown.

The chaotic start to President Trump’s second term roiled the economy at the beginning of the year, as consumers and businesses scrambled to react to a constant stream of tariff announcements and policy shifts.

The policies, and the uncertainty they created, were enough to push economic growth into reverse in the first quarter. U.S. gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, declined at an 0.3 percent annual rate in the first three months of the year, the Commerce Department said Wednesday, a stunning reversal from the strong growth at the end of last year.

I’m sure the Times has something to say about this, right?

U.S. economy grew at a 3% rate in Q2, a better-than-expected pace even as Trump’s tariffs hit

The U.S. economy grew at a much stronger-than-expected pace in the second quarter, powered by a turnaround in the trade balance and renewed consumer strength, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Gross domestic product, a sum of goods and services activity across the sprawling U.S. economy, jumped 3% for the April through June period, according to figures adjusted for seasonality and inflation.

That topped the Dow Jones estimate for 2.3% and helped reverse a decline of 0.5% for the first quarter that came largely due to a huge drop in imports, which subtract from the total, as well as weak consumer spending amid tariff concerns.

I thought the “Paper Of Record” said there was a “further slowdown” was expected? I’m sure the Times will post an article at some point, since there was none about the 2nd quarter as of 830pm Wednesday night

Oh, and of course, the Washington DNC Post had to try and go negative

U.S. economy posts strong second quarter, growing at 3% pace
The U.S. economy posted stronger growth in the second quarter, but economists warn that the latest GDP data may not accurately reflect what’s happening.

…

But economists warn that the latest figures, which were boosted by tariff-related swings in trade, are probably painting a more upbeat picture of the economy than is warranted. In the second quarter, American businesses purchased far fewer imports — which ends up counting against the gross domestic product — because they had already stocked up on foreign goods earlier in the year ahead of President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs. A corresponding surge in overall exports made up the bulk of the economy’s recent strength.

“It’s hard to know exactly what’s happening because the whole trade war is leaving a real imprint on macroeconomic data,” said Blerina Uruci, chief U.S. economist at T. Rowe Price. “But the picture isn’t as rosy as a 2 or 3 percent growth rate would indicate.”

They still have the headline “Democracy dies in darkness.” They should change it to “Journalism is dead here.” Imagine 3% under Biden: they’d be squeeing.