H L Quist - The Myth Buster

Our FEATURE today focuses on the performance of the US economy and more specifically the first quarter ending March 31st. At the beginning of the year a consensus of economists and analysts seemed to agree that GDP growth in Q1 should be in the 3% range. Why did they miss by such a large margin? With consumer sentiment near historical highs and the US financial markets at record highs, why would consumer spending be so "tepid" ? Our research offers some unexpected observations which can be interpolated in projecting results for the remainder of the year. Other topics include: The Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930, the Nasdaq all-time high, Mortgage REITS soar, "Problems in a Gold Rush", the silver squeeze "full pants down day", another Clinton corpse and the Salem witch trials revisited. "Disclaimer: This commentary is provided for informational and educational purposes only. The information, analysis and opinions expressed herein reflect our judgment as of this date and are subject to change at any time without not