Economics

The Moment When Deutsche Bank's Joe LaVorgna Threw in the Towel on Being a U.S. Economic Bull

Revisions to growth proved to be a "eureka moment" for the economist.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
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July 30, 2015 was the day it all changed for Deutsche Bank AG Chief U.S. Economist Joseph LaVorgna.

On that day, the initial reading of second-quarter U.S. GDP growth showed the economy expanded at 2.3 percent, which was 2 ticks below the consensus estimate and LaVorgna's call. But that underwhelming print wasn't what turned one of Wall Street's biggest bulls on the U.S. economy into an analyst with a much more pessimistic outlook for growth. Rather, the revisions to past growth figures that accompanied this release are what LaVorgna says proved to be a "eureka moment" for how he viewed the U.S. economy.