
Economic Highlights
The 2nd quarter was punctuated by conflicting readings on GDP growth and job creation. 1Q2014 GDP initially came in at +0.1%, but was subsequently revised downward to -1.0% and later further lowered to -2.9%. This drop was the largest GDP contraction since the Great Recession, the first negative reading since 1Q2011, and the worst contraction in the midst of an economic expansion since World War II. Looking forward, the Fed cut its 2014 GDP estimate by nearly one percent, while the IMF also lowered expectations for U.S. economic growth to 2% for the year. Conversely, jobs data releases were consistently positive through the quarter and have recorded expansionary readings of over 200,000 new jobs each month for the past five months.