Finance & economics | Presidential preoccupations

America’s glorious economy should help Kamala Harris

Voters are starting to notice the good news just in time for the election

The sun rises behind Hudson Yards and the Empire State Building in New York City, as seen from Weehawken, New Jersey, USA.
Photograph: Getty Images
|Washington, DC

America was supposed to be in recession. When the Federal Reserve began to raise interest rates at the fastest pace since the early 1980s, few economists expected the economy to be heading into a presidential election in this state. Indeed, even a few months ago few thought things would be this good. Inflation-adjusted quarterly growth in annualised terms has averaged 2.9% since the start of 2023, above its long-term trend. On October 30th America published its GDP figure for this year’s third quarter. The economy expanded at an annualised pace of 2.8%, a full percentage point above the median forecast in July, at the start of the quarter.

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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “In a new light”

From the November 2nd 2024 edition

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