ANOTHER GOOD ECONOMIC REPORT – AT 4:08 P.M. ET:   The economy keeps up a strong pace, and that has to be good news for Republicans in this election year.  From USA Today:

Healthy consumer spending and business stockpiling helped keep the U.S. economy on a roll in the third quarter, more than offsetting the negative effects of President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war.

The nation’s gross domestic product – the value of all goods and services produced in the economy – increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.5 percent in the July- September period, the Commerce Department said Friday. That followed a 4.2 percent gain in the second quarter and marks the first time growth has topped 3 percent for two consecutive quarters since early 2015. Economists expected a 3.3 percent increase in output.

The economy has continued to benefit from federal tax cuts and spending increases, along with a 3.7 percent unemployment rate that marks a 50-year low and is nudging worker wages and buying power higher. So far, those forces have outweighed the fallout from U.S. trade standoffs with China and other countries.

COMMENT:  Politically, this should help the president's party in two weeks, but the assistance may not be that great.  People get used to a strong economy, and the classic question asked is, "What have you done for me lately?" 

However, Trump's personal numbers continue to rise.  They are higher than Obama's, a good if early sign for the 2020 presidential race.

October 26, 2018