Here’s what I take away from today’s GDP release:

1. A bit of good news is that the headlines about GDP appear to be more positive than I thought they would be, as they are emphasizing that the economy gained some steam and that consumer spending picked up.

2. GDP growth in Q4 came in at 3.2 percent, and the market was expecting 3.5 percent. Statistically speaking, there really is no difference between these numbers, so any blather about GDP being weaker than expected is, well, blather.

What do forecasters say about how the economy will fare in 2011? This is a difficult question to answer as there are lots of changing forecasts of the U.S. economy. What is true is that in recent months, most forecasters have become increasingly optimistic about the economic outlook for the U.S. economy. This increased optimism stems in large part from the December signing of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of 3.2% in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to today’s advance estimate. This follows a growth rate of 2.6% in the third quarter.

Press release

The Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) releases 12 monthly and quarterly Principal Federal Economic Indicators collected by its constituent bureaus: the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Businesses rely heavily upon these indicators to make decisions every day. In their public comments, the Secretary and ESA’s Under Secretary and Chief Economist put the indicators into a national and global economic context.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of 1.7% in the second quarter of 2010, according to today’s third estimate. This follows a growth rate of 3.7% in the first quarter.

Press Release