Markets in USA & Canada

摘要

There has been growing optimism about the economy in the USA, reflected in a rush to buy equities and a general exit from US Treasury bonds. This seems to be the product of a collective leap of faith rather than a reflection of solid economic news. It goes beyond the modest improvement reflected in the main economic indicators. The preliminary estimate from the Commerce Department of second-quarter GDP showed a rise of 2.4 percent (annualised, seasonally adjusted). This compares with an expected 1.5 percent. However, the performance owed a great deal to an annualised rise of 22 percent in government spending during the quarter, much of it relating to defence and internal security projects (it is not surprising to find that last time spending increased as fast was during the Vietnam war).