Numbers show poor economic growth

The commerce department revised growth figures for 2007 – 2009, taking down the numbers and essentially showing that the economy performed more poorly than was thought. The economy shrank at a rate of 2.6 percent last year; this is the steepest drop since 1956. On Wall Street, stock futures fell in the wake of this report.

Dan Gross, columnist for Newsweek and Slate says that there’s a dichotomy. Things associated with business, industry, and global industry are strong, while anything tied to the consumer is weak. Personal consumption is only rising at 1.6 precent rate.