What the hell is "banking productivity" anyway?
Enrique
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NEW YORK, Sept 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department is to
unveil on Wednesday changes in how it calculates economic growth, the
Wall Street Journal reported in Wednesday's online edition.
The paper said the department concludes that heavy business investment
in computer software means American economic output has been even
greater in the 1990s than previously estimated.
Making changes to the way software purchases are treated could
increase the official estimate of gross domestic product in 1996 by about
$115 billion, or 1.5 percent, the paper reported, citing a publication by a
unit of the Commerce Department.
The Journal said government economists are also set to announce that
they are sharply raising their estimate of productivity in the banking
industry.
These economists acknowledge that conventional benchmarks have not
adequately recognised the effect of the financial revolution over the past
two decades, the paper said.
The Journal said officials will also describe a change in calculating
household savings, which could mean that the official personal savings
rate is actually positive.
The Commerce had been reporting a negative savings rate, meaning
Americans are spending more than they earn, in recent months.
The paper said the three changes were part of a review of the way the
government measures the economy, which is conducted every five years
by the department's Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The details are in:
http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/an/0899niw/maintext.htm