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The United States economy picked up speed at the end of 2011 as businesses substantially built up their inventories and consumers increased their spending.

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic health, grew at a 2.8% annual rate in the last three months of the year, the Commerce Department said.

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Ford reported its best annual earnings since 1998 on Friday, making 2011 the second most profitable year in the company's 109-year history.

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General Motors and its partners sold 9 million vehicles around the globe in 2011, the company announced Thursday, allowing it to reclaim the title of world’s top-selling automaker.

Toyota had snatched the crown from General Motors in 2008, as the American automaker nearly crumbled under the weight of its debts and as U.S. auto sales plummeted with the recession.

The 2011 sales figure reflects the dramatic turnaround that began when the company filed for bankruptcy less than three years ago and, according to analysts, stems from the popularity of its latest vehicles.

GM has “demonstrated the ability to introduce competitive products and do it consistently,” said Jeremy Anwyl of the automotive Web site Edmunds.com.

Overall, the U.S. auto industry, which had seemed to be on the brink of collapse at the onset of the recession, has strengthened.

Since their government rescues, General Motors and Chrysler have both far exceeded analysts’ expectations for profit and sales. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/gm-once-again-top-selli
ng-automaker/2012/01/19/gIQAp3b1BQ_story.html Conference Board announced that its Leading Economic Index rose 0.4 percent in December, the third consecutive month of gains. Manufacturing played an important role in this month’s increases, with increased new orders and a longer average workweek. Improvements in the employment situation, equity markets and the interest rate spread also made positive contributions to this figure.

This positive report mirrors another national index on the economy from the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank. Its National Activity Index rose from -0.46 in November to +0.17 in December. This measure looks to see if the U.S. is expanding at its historical growth rate; therefore, positive numbers reflect above-average growth. This month’s data suggest a significant improvement, with manufacturing output the leading contributor. The production-related variables shifted from -0.28 to +0.24 for the month, led by stronger manufacturing production and capacity utilization.

Other positive contributors included higher employment and sales. This suggests that, while the overall economy remains below its long-term trend, it is moving in the right direction. Moreover, the risk of recession is reduced, as the index has moved further away from the -0.70 threshold which suggests an increased likelihood of recession.

These two measures – one from the Conference Board and the other from the Chicago Fed – are good news as we enter 2012. The economy is improving, with manufacturers playing an important role in its recent rebound. http://shopfloor.org/2012/01/leading-economic-indicators-suggest-modes
t-growth-ahead/23774

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Take a look at Q3, and you'll see the recession was much, much worse than we knew at the time. The BEA revised estimate shows the economy contracted 8.9%, much worse than any previous estimate. It is also worse than any quarterly contraction in any recession the Great Depression.

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