First Quarter GDP in U.S. Grows by Only 0.1%
WASHINGTON—Real gross domestic product for the United States increased by a sluggish 0.1 percent in the first quarter of 2014, according to an "advance" estimate by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That growth is considerably lower than what economists had expected and slower than the real GDP increase of 2.6 percent in the quarter before.
Real GDP is a measure of the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in a country or sovereign body. The Bureau emphasized that the first-quarter advance estimate released today is based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision. The "second" estimate for the first quarter, based on more complete data, will be released on May 29, 2014.
Don launched the news site Blue MauMau in the Fall of 2005 after franchise buyers and owners told him that they felt it was almost impossible to shovel through the propaganda and sales spin from business news, disclosures, and even franchise experts in order to make informed and wise investments.
Why is this news site called Blue MauMau? It's metaphorical. Blue MauMau is a South Pacific fish that gathers in schools for protection from sharks and other predators. In an industry that has many impediments in knowing truth at the franchise level, Don created a platform that franchisees from all brands and ilks could use to network together to inform both themselves and reporters about their businesses and industry. This site works when franchise owners participate in what they know. In the past that function has been left largely to the franchisor. I'll still reach out to franchisors, but I do so wanting straightforward answers for our readers—franchisees. This news site aims to continually improve at being "the franchise owner's most trusted news source."
Don is the award-winning publisher of this news site about franchised establishments, Blue MauMau. He can be emailed at editor@bluemaumau.org or tweeted @dsnig.
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