Conor Sen, Columnist

There's Something New in Businesses' Stagnant Inventories

Rising book values for inventories help corporate profits. Next, corporations will invest in growth.

Inventory magic.

Photographer: Bruno Vincent/Getty Images
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Friday's GDP report disappointed, showing the economy only grew by 1.2 percent in the second quarter of the year, meaningfully below the 2 to 2.5 percent that economists consider normal in the post-recession era.

That GDP figure was dragged down by private inventories, but if you look closer that’s where the encouraging signs come from as well.