By now we all know that the U.S. economy just turned in its best quarter in nearly two decades. The real gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 7.2 percent in the third quarter, twice the increase in the second quarter and the strongest pace of growth since 1984. More significantly, business investment grew at an 11 percent annual rate, the fastest since 2000, and durable goods purchases grew at a 27 percent annual rate in the third quarter.
For months, economists have argued that a real recovery would not take hold until business executives had confidence to start investing again. That now appears to be happening. The Business Roundtable said earlier this month that 23 percent of its executives expected to increase capital spending in the months ahead, while only 12 percent were cutting.