SYNOPSIS:

Is there a memo I didn't get? Over the last couple of weeks there have been breathless headlines all over the news. Durable goods orders, said several papers, "soared" in June; GDP, according to today's USA Today, "rocketed" in the second quarter.

Here's a picture of those "soaring" durable goods orders:

And here's one of "rocketing" GDP:

I think these speak for themselves. Growth has definitely picked up; maybe, just maybe, 2nd half growth will be fast enough to keep up with rising productivity and a growing labor force. (I doubt it.) But the rhetoric has outrun the reality, wouldn't you say?

Originally published on the Official Paul Krugman Site, 8.1.03