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Mirage Recovery: What ‘Record’ GDP Growth Tells Us About the Economy

The Department of Commerce’s new report shows 33.1% annualized GDP growth in Q3, but does this really tell us much about the state of the economy?

By Nathaniel Whittemore
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 10:25 a.m. Published Oct 29, 2020, 7:00 p.m.
Breakdown 10.29

The Department of Commerce’s new report shows 33.1% annualized GDP growth in Q3, but does this really tell us much about the state of the economy?

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
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This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Nexo.io and Elliptic.

Today on the Brief:

  • FTX launches equities trading
  • Avanti gets Wyoming bank charter
  • France locks down and ECB intimates new stimulus

Our main discussion: GDP growth report

The Department of Commerce released its Q3 GDP numbers. Touted as record growth, this is actually a much more complicated story. In this episode, NLW breaks down what the numbers tell us and what they don’t, and why we should be more focused on understanding long-term consumer behavior shifts than short-term numbers.

See also: The ‘Everything Crash’ Is Coming? Markets Go Risk-Off as European Stocks See Worst Day in 5 Months

For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, iHeartRadio or RSS.

Note: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinDesk, Inc. or its owners and affiliates.

EconomyPodcastsThe Breakdowngdp
Nathaniel Whittemore

NLW is an independent strategy and communications consultant for leading crypto companies as well as host of The Breakdown – the fastest-growing podcast in crypto. Whittemore has been a VC with Learn Capital, was on the founding team of Change.org, and founded a program design center at his alma mater Northwestern University that helped inspire the largest donation in the school’s history.

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