First quarter GDP shrank 1 percent

last updated 8 January 2015

One of the hardest things in economics or, dare I say it, life in general is separating signal from noise and information that matters from information that doesn't matter.

Today, a new revised estimate of GDP showed that the U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter of 2014, down 1 percent:

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Nobody knows yet. Stocks actually rose on the news, suggesting that investors are still optimistic about the economy and the market. But the recovery from the Great Recession of 2008 has been pretty weak, and with the Fed gradually tapering its quantitative easing stimulus program, the economy could be vulnerable to another recession. With inflation remaining less than 2 percent, it would be wise for the Fed to delay further tapering to see if the economy is about to fall into another downturn.

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John Aziz is the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also an associate editor at Pieria.co.uk. Previously his work has appeared on Business Insider, Zero Hedge, and Noahpinion.

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