Not a Good Economic News Day

First, initial jobless claims jumped unexpectedly,with initial claims unexpectedly rising to 424,000, though the less noisy 4-week moving average fell slightly, as did continuing and extended claims.

Additionally, the revised 1^st quarter GDP numbers missed expectations, with weak consumer spending being much of the shortfall.

With no one in Washington talking about anything besides austerity and cuts, this is going to get ugly.

I think that Krugman is right when he worries that this might be shaping up to be a 3 depression, one more in the vein of the Long Depression of 1873-1890 than the shorter, but more intense Great Depression of the 1930s.