June 2, 2015

TDG News: The Dowling Group Joins STARelief to Sponsor Doggy Day Palooza

The Dowling Group teamed up with STARelief to promote Doggy Day Palooza this past Saturday, May 30th, at the Stamford Dog Park. The Dowling Group's Michael Buccino and Shannon Dowling where among the volunteers washing cars and dogs in an effort to help raise money and awareness for STARelief. The event raised over $2,300 with all proceeds going to STARelief. Thank you to all the volunteers and donators for their support!

STARelief is a non-profit organization that provides medical care, temporary homes, food, and emergency shelter to pets whose caretakers are struggling with financial hardship. To learn more and donate, please visit STARelief Donate Online.

The First Quarter's GDP Deception

Is it possible to have an economic optical illusion?

On Friday, the Commerce Department reported the U.S. economy contracted at an annualized rate of 0.7 percent during the first quarter of 2015. The Federal Reserve sees things slightly differently.

Previously, the Commerce Department had reported our gross domestic product (GDP), which is the value of all goods and services produced in the United States, had increased at an annualized rate of 0.2 percent during the first quarter. The estimate was weaker than economists had expected and caused some analysts to wonder whether the economic recovery was stalling.

Weak first quarter GDP has caused other analysts, including those at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco who penned an article entitled, The Puzzle of Weak First-Quarter GDP Growth, to wonder whether a statistical anomaly is causing first quarter GDP growth to appear weaker than it really is. Barron's explained it like this:

"Since the expansion began in mid-2009, there have been six calendar quarters that have included the January-March quarter; for those six quarters, the average rate of growth has been just 0.4 percent. For the other 17 calendar quarters, growth has averaged 2.8 percent. One reason for this pattern seems to be faulty seasonal adjustment in the first quarter... In any case, if the same pattern persists in 2015, expect a rebound in the current quarter and through the second half of this year. And, based on data released so far, one source of the rebound would be a pickup in housing."

The San Fran Fed report concluded, "There is a good chance that underlying economic growth so far this year was substantially stronger than reported."

While GDP was revised downward last week, the core consumer price index (CPI), which is a measure of inflation that excludes food and energy, showed inflation increasing for the first four months of the year. If it continues apace, by year-end the CPI will rise above the 2 percent inflation target set by the Fed and will probably set the stage for an increase in the Fed funds rate.

Investors weren't thrilled with last week's news, and markets generally moved lower.

Eurozone Rebounding Amid Quantitative Easing

If America's growth is slowing, the United States was The Little Engine That Could during 2014. We added three million jobs, unemployment fell to 5.6 percent, and GDP grew by 2.4 percent for the year. Unfortunately, despite the contentions of the San Francisco Federal Reserve's report, we appear to be losing momentum.

So, what happened?

The Economist reported a variety of factors have contributed to the slowdown. The U.S. dollar has gained 20 percent in value against the euro during the past year, which made exports more expensive. In fact, exports were down about 3 percent, year-over-year, in March. Also, oil prices fell, which knocked 0.8 percentage points off economic growth as investment in mining structures shrank. Finally, American consumers didn't spend as much as experts anticipated they would, despite lower oil prices. Lower-than-expected spending may reflect weak wage growth.

While growth in the United States shows signs of slowing, the Eurozone's growth is accelerating. The region emerged from a double-dip recession in the spring of 2013, according to The Economist. Many large country's economies, including those of Spain and France, delivered relatively strong GDP growth during the first quarter of 2015. As a whole, the Eurozone grew by 0.4 percent during the quarter, outperforming the United States.

Why is the Eurozone doing so well?

The European Central Bank took a page from the Federal Reserve's playbook and began a round of quantitative easing (QE). QE has contributed to the euro losing value against the U.S. dollar, which has helped Eurozone exports. Also, consumers in the Eurozone have been spending the windfall created by lower oil prices.

Will the United States and the Eurozone be able to sustain positive economic growth? Only time will tell.

Weekly Focus - Think About It

"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self.

--Ernest Hemingway, American author

Best regards,
Sean M. Dowling, CFP, EA
President, The Dowling Group Wealth Management