Dividend money manager Federated Investors’ commentary discusses why they believe the economy is poised to grow even further this year, driving equities to new highs.
“2014 hardly could have started worse, with a brutal and seemingly never-ending winter bringing activity to a halt and keeping shoppers at home in much of the country. The final first-quarter estimate told the story, with real gross domestic product (GDP) contracting a much worse-than-expected 2.1%. But there’s a reason the equity market shook off the number. It was, after all, so yesterday.
What today and the rest of the year look like are much different, as manufacturing and jobs appear to be accelerating, auto and retail sales are on the upswing and even housing is showing some signs of pulling out of its funk. The government’s estimate of second-quarter growth was a well-above-consensus 4.2%, in line with our view that the economy is settling onto a higher growth plane that will drive equities to new highs this year and into 2015.”
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