The U.S. economy is speeding up in the wrong direction. During the third quarter, production dropped faster and prices rose more rapidly than in the second quarter, according to a Commerce Department report last week.
From July through September, real output of goods and services fell at an annual rate of 2.9%. That was the third quarterly decline in a row the longest downhill run since the recession of 1960-61and the drop was almost twice as steep as in the April-June period. Some reasons: the deepening depression in housing, the impact of high costs for imported oil and a sudden downturn in...