US GDP grows 3.4% in the third quarter and exceeds expectations of 3.2% in the days before the midterm elections

The United States economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.4% in the third quarter, above the 3.2% expected by the market, according to GDP data released this Thursday and commented live on Fox Business. The result comes just days before the midterm elections.

For the channel, the number represents a reinforcement of President Donald Trump's economic agenda. According to the presentation, inflation continues to be the negative point of the scenario, while spending and growth appear as the positive highlights.

Investment leads expansion

In presenter Charles Payne's assessment, most of the progress came from investment, which he classified as the key to the result. Payne stated that Trump placed the return of investment and industry to the country at the top of his agenda, and that the strategy worked.

According to what was said during the program, 1.9 percentage points of the 3.4% correspond to investment in artificial intelligence. Payne called the data impressive and cited the creation of jobs and income associated with the sector.

The second biggest contributor, according to Payne, was the consumer. He acknowledged that wage growth has slowed, but said that this does not mean an absence of wage gains, which, in his assessment, have been reasonable.

Job market and the debate about data centers

Payne cited an unemployment rate of between 4.1% and 4.2%, a level that, according to him, economists usually call full employment. In his reading, people are employed, spending and earning money.

The presenter used the data to make an alert. He criticized the proposal for a national moratorium on the construction of data centers, attributed in the program to a political bloc, and said that the measure would be devastating for the American economy. According to Payne, China is not pausing its investments in the area, and the US would run the risk of losing its lead in economics and security.

Payne also mentioned a virus that hit most websites a few weeks ago, discovered and resolved by artificial intelligence, as an example of the value of technology. For him, stopping the sector would be shooting himself in the foot.

For investors, the program's message is that the pace of the economy largely depends on the cycle of investment in technology and infrastructure, a major topic for Nasdaq and the debate on interest rates. The transcript, however, does not detail projections for the stock market, interest rates or dollar, and the assessments above reflect the presenter's view, not an independent conclusion.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.