Bush Is Right: Economy BOOMING! Really? "Housing Slump SLOWS Economy"

[The Cleaner]

The cooling housing market sent a chill through the economy in the third quarter, helping to slow growth to its weakest pace in more than three years, the government said yesterday.

The nation's gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced, expanded at a sluggish 1.6 percent annual rate in the quarter, down from a moderate 2.6 percent pace in the second quarter, the Commerce Department reported. In the first three months of the year, the economy grew at a sizzling 5.6 percent annual rate.

With less than two weeks to go before the midterm congressional elections, the report instantly became campaign ammunition. Democrats emphasized the slowdown while Republicans highlighted signs of economic strength...

The sharp slowdown during the year resulted from a combination of soaring energy prices, rising interest rates and plunging home construction and sales. Oil prices and the cost of a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage peaked in July, and gasoline averaged around $3 a gallon for much of the summer.

Home building plunged at a 17.4 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the steepest fall in four consecutive quarters of declines, the report showed.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/27/AR2006102700408.html?referrer=email