White House economist always see a second half recovery in the first part of the year and a first half recovery in the second half of the year. That being said, CEA head Christina Romer sees GDP slipping less in the Q2 data, perhaps 1-2% from the 6.1% reported today. She sees a silver lining in the big decline in inventories, coupled with strong consumer spending. That should help growth later in the year as inventories are rebuilt.
Stocks are enjoying a strong rally this morning, up 1.5%. The S&P is back with 8 points of key 875 resistance.