It seems that the line is that everything is good in the economy these days and we won't take about the things that are not. The Commerce Department reported that nominal construction spending fell by 0.6 percent in November. It also revised down the October data to show a decrease of 0.5 percent after previously reporting no change. The main culprit is non-residential construction, where a bubble driven boom is rapidly reversing itself, however residential and public construction also fell in the month. Barring an extraordinary turnaround in December, construction spending will knock at least half a percentage point off the growth rate for the fourth quarter. This is newsworthy.
--Dean Baker