Monday, April 25, 2011
US Growth Takes a Hit
US growth is taking a small turn downwards. It is not entirely the US' fault, says the Economist. They claim that both weather and outside influences have slowed US growth from initial rates of 4% to as low as 1.0% or below. Harsh winter weather decreased consumer spending, and rising oil prices because of unrest in the Middle East and North Africa contributed as well. With the advent of the Saudi's 10% production cut, this is bad news for the United States, who was predicted to have a durable recovery in 2011 after a rocky but successful 2010. I think this has the potential to be motivation for real efforts to make alternative energy viable as a replacement for oil and/or coal. It could also simply result in a prolonged slowing of growth, decreasing America's economic influence in the world even more.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I agree that the increase in oil price will motivate more projects to focus on renewable energy. The slow in growth is mainly due to the overall economic environment, such as the unrest in the Middle east and the increasing oil price, so once the influence of the outside shock decreases, i believe the economy will work better, and the growth rate will go back to normal.
Post a Comment