Investing.com - Those looking for a Trump bump to the economy may have to be patient.
Although many economists expect the $1.5 trillion tax plan to take growth above 3.00% at some point in the future, the economy is off to a slow start in 2018.
Several key economic indicators actually fell in January.
Durable goods orders were down 3.7%.
Home sales--existing and new-- fell 3.2% and 7.8%, respectively.
Retail sales declined 0.3%.
And industrial production slipped 0.1%.
No wonder then that the Atlanta Federal Reserve just lowered its first-quarter growth forecast from 3.2% to 2.6%, which happens to match the consensus forecast of private economists.
The White House, however, recently said the economy was already on a 3.00% growth path, with three-quarters of it a result of the administration's policies.
The last time the economy grew by 3% or more in a year was 2005."