WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy powered its way to a solid annual growth rate of 3.5 percent from July through September, outpacing most of the developed world and appearing on track to extend its momentum through this year and beyond.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy powered its way to a solid annual growth rate of 3.5 percent from July through September, outpacing most of the developed world and appearing on track to extend its momentum through this year and beyond.
The result isn’t a fluke.
It turns out the world’s biggest economy did a lot of things right after the Great Recession that set it apart from other major nations. In the view of many economists, those key decisions, particularly by the Federal Reserve, appear to be paying off now.
An improving economy led the Fed on Wednesday to end its stimulative bond buying program. Launched during the 2008 financial crisis, it was an unprecedented and aggressive effort to revive a dormant economy by buying trillions in bonds to reduce long-term interest rates.
Doug Handler, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight, credited the Fed and its bond purchases with helping pull the country out of the worst downturn since the 1930s.
“Its greatest impact was instilling confidence in consumers and the business community that Fed officials were determined to do everything they could to stimulate growth,” Handler said. “To know you have the Fed pulling for you instills confidence.”
Thursday’s government report on the gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — added to evidence that the Fed’s efforts have translated into robust job growth and a recovery that appears to be solidifying.
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