ICYMI: This Week in the "Remarkable" Economy

This week, we learned consumer confidence surged by the most since March 2021, our economy has grown more than 12% under this Administration, and PCE inflation fell to 2.1%. As The Wall Street Journal put it, this is "an economy that is putting its peers to shame."

Read more below:

Tuesday:

NBC's Today Show: Consumer confidence surges […]

CHRISTINE ROMANS: Consumers are saying that they're feeling more upbeat about jobs, the stock market, business conditions. So, you look at this particular survey, it shows that consumers are feeling better about things here heading into the autumn. I mean, you look at the backdrop: you got a stock market near record highs; if you own a home, you're sitting on a lot of home equity right now because home prices are at record highs; and the job market has been pretty resilient for the past of couple years—and that's something that folks can feel. Wages are rising faster than inflation—it's been going on for more than a year and a half—that's starting to have consumers feeling a little bit better. And they're seeing sales everywhere, too, right? They're starting to finally see some relief in their pocketbooks.

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: It seems like inflation has come down. It's closer to where it's meant to be.

Associated Press: American consumers feeling much more confident […]

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index jumped to 108.7 in October from 99.2 in September. It was the biggest monthly gain since March of 2021. Analysts forecast a more modest reading of 99.3.

CNN: Americans' economic mood is perking up […], survey finds

The Conference Board's latest consumer survey showed that Americans this month became more optimistic about the future of both the labor market and the broader US economy. The monthly survey's Consumer Confidence Index jumped in October by the fastest clip since March 2021. […]

The White House touted the report, noting that it reflected "good real income growth, strong employment, and inflation that is back down to the level before the pandemic," said Biden's top economic adviser, Lael Brainard, in a statement.

Bloomberg: US Consumer Confidence Rises Most Since 2021 on Labor Market

US consumer confidence increased in October by the most since March 2021 on optimism about the broader economy and the labor market. […] A measure of expectations for the next six months rose in October to 89.1, the highest since December 2021. A gauge of present conditions increased more than 14 points, the largest monthly advance since May 2021.

MarketWatch: U.S. consumer confidence surges in October to highest level in nine months

The U.S. consumer-confidence index surged to 108.7 in October from a revised 99.2 reading in the prior month, the Conference Board said Tuesday. This is highest level of confidence since January.

Wednesday:

ABC's World News Tonight: "A strong report on the U.S. economy"

DAVID MUIR: A strong report on the U.S. economy tonight. […] The nation's output of goods and services, the GDP, grew 2.8% from July to September. That's the tenth straight quarter of uninterrupted growth now, two and a half years. The strength was fueled by strong consumer spending, with inflation now under control. And gas prices are falling as well—the average now $3.11 a gallon, that's down 8 cents since last month, 35 cents since last year. […] Some analysts predict prices could soon fall below $3 a gallon.

Associated Press: US economy grew at a solid 2.8% pace last quarter on strength of consumer spending

"Today's GDP report shows how far we've come since I took office—from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression to the strongest economy in the world,'' President Joe Biden said.

Other recent economic reports have also pointed to a still-healthy economy. In a sign that the nation's households, whose purchases drive most of the economy, will continue spending, the Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index posted its biggest monthly gain since March 2021. The proportion of consumers who expect a recession in the next 12 months dropped to its lowest point since the board first posed that question in July 2022.

Wall Street Journal: U.S. Economic Growth Extends Solid Streak

The economy has outperformed expectations over the past couple of years under the Biden administration. A much-anticipated recession has yet to materialize, even though the Federal Reserve raised interest rates aggressively to curb inflation in recent years. Wednesday's report points to an economy that is still humming, with strong consumer spending supported by a robust labor market, and business investment that remains solid.

Democrats have tried to focus the economic conversation around those positive metrics. President Biden said in a statement that the "GDP report shows how far we've come since I took office—from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression to the strongest economy in the world." Private-sector employers added a larger-than-expected 233,000 jobs in October, according to a separate report by payroll processor ADP, outstripping economists' forecasts by nearly double.

Reuters: US consumers keep economy on solid ground […]

U.S. economy grew solidly in the third quarter, with consumer spending increasing at its fastest pace in 1-1/2 years and inflation slowing sharply, continuing to defy forecasts of a recession and outperforming its global peers […] The Commerce Department's advance estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product on Wednesday also showed robust business investment in equipment last quarter.

Bloomberg: US Economy Expands at 2.8% Rate, Powered by Resilient Consumer

The US economy expanded at a robust pace in the third quarter as household purchases accelerated […] Inflation-adjusted gross domestic product increased at a 2.8% annualized pace after rising 3% in the previous quarter, according to the government's initial estimate published Wednesday.

Thursday:

MSNBC's Morning Joe: Steve Rattner: Trump says U.S. economy is in the toilet but it grew faster under Biden than under Trump

WILLIE GEIST: U.S. economic growth leading the world. We've heard this from economist after economist. Republicans even conceding—many of them—that the American economy is in fact the envy of the world.

STEVEN RATTNER: [..] In fact, under Joe Biden, [the economy] grew faster than it did under Donald Trump—3.1% average GDP growth under Biden, 2.8% under Trump. And this corrects for all the COVID things—these are straight down the middle of the fairway numbers. You can see that that growth, in fact, has turned into a much stronger economic performance for average Americans. GDP per capita is a way to think about standard of living—not [a] perfect measure, but it is directionally right. […]

RATTNER: Let's do the scorecard here: Biden, 9.4% average annual investment growth over his term; Trump, 3.9%. So when Trump says he's the president that brings back investment, brings back jobs, he's wrong. It's the things that were passed in the Biden Administration—the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure bill, and the CHIPS Act—three major pieces of legislation that brought investment back. And that has all made the stock market very happy. The stock market is roughly up 51% under Biden, up 44% under Trump. And it's, again, way outstripped other countries.

Wall Street Journal: The Next President Inherits a Remarkable Economy

Whoever wins the White House next week will take office with no shortage of challenges, but at least one huge asset: an economy that is putting its peers to shame.

With another solid performance in the third quarter, the U.S. has grown 2.7% over the past year. It is outrunning every other major developed economy, not to mention its own historical growth rate.

More impressive than the rate of growth is its quality. This growth didn't come solely from using up finite supplies of labor and other resources, which could fuel inflation. Instead, it came from making people and businesses more productive.

New York Times: The Fed's Preferred Inflation Gauge Cooled Overall in September

Inflation has been cooling for two years, and fresh data released on Thursday showed that trend continued in September. Prices climbed just 2.1 percent compared with a year earlier. That is nearly back to the Federal Reserve's 2 percent inflation goal. […]

As price increases cool, people seem to be slowly feeling better about the economy. Consumer confidence has been improving, though it has yet to fully recover to the levels that prevailed before the pandemic.

"While critics said we needed a recession to lower inflation, instead inflation has come down while our economy has grown" substantially, President Biden said in a statement after the report's release.

The Hill: Inflation falls to lowest level since 2021 in Fed's preferred gauge

Prices for goods decreased 1.2 percent on the month and prices for energy decreased 8.1 percent. The national average price for a gallon of gasoline is down to $3.13, according to auto service provider AAA. A year ago, it was $3.47.

"While critics said we needed a recession to lower inflation, instead inflation has come down while our economy has grown more than 12% over the course of my Administration—the fastest rate of any presidential term in the 21st century," President Biden said in a statement.

Associated Press: Inflation gauge closely watched by the Fed falls to lowest level since early 2021

The Commerce Department reported that prices rose just 2.1% in September from a year earlier, down from a 2.3% rise in August. That is barely above the Fed's 2% inflation target and in line with readings in 2018, well before prices began surging after the pandemic recession.

Fox Business: Fed's favored inflation gauge showed price growth continued to slow in September

An inflation gauge closely watched by Federal Reserve policymakers continued to slow in September, as the pace of price growth trended closer to the Fed's target in September.

The Commerce Department on Thursday reported that the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index rose 0.2% in September and increased 2.1% year over year. Those figures were in line with estimates by economists polled by LSEG.