Powell scores a victory over progressives with weak but growing GDP numbers

After two consecutive quarters of economic contraction — the textbook definition of a “recession” even if the National Bureau of Economic Research was loath to declare it — the economy grew by a 2.6% annualized rate in the third quarter of this year, beating expert expectations of 2.4%. Between nominal GDP expansion and the unemployment rate remaining at a near-record low of 3.5%, nobody has greater cause to celebrate today than Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.