Makes sense guvvmint does the same, bums on seats = taxable worker units…

here is the standard GDP calculation:
GDP (Y) is the sum of consumption (C), investment (I), government spending (G) and net exports (X – M).
Y = C + I + G + (X − M)

The Federal Reserve ( attempts to ) sets interest rates in an attempt to manage Inflation and Growth. I can’t find their growth goal stated but Trend Growth has been downward for the industrialized West since the 1950s, now seems to be ~2.5%, certainly less than 3%. ( assuming the Fed is actually ‘in control’ )

the wrinkle comes from Jimmy Carter’s “Baseline Budgeting”.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseline_%28budgeting%29
“Presently, the [automatic annual] Baseline Budgeting increase is about 7%.”

now, obviously, there is a HUGE problem when the total growth number is goal set to be <3% while simultaneously one of it's sub-components is being goal set to ~7%. i've run the numbers and the annualized 7% growth in the US federal budget amounts to approx 1.5% of the growth in the total economy. therefore, anything less than 1.5% annualized growth means that the private sector is actually decreasing in size …

i don't know how they're doing things in the UK but here in the US they are setting the 'baseline' by factoring monetary inflation and population growth.

this is how they say that immigration ( legal and otherwise ) is "good".

because additional immigration causes the population to grow, all population growth is considered, ipso facto, to be good for the economy.

and, given the the .Gov grows it's projected future budgets off of increases in the census numbers and that these larger .Gov expenditures go directly to an increase in the GDP total … they're kind of right, in a way? if you squint really hard?

European bank stocks were crashing, but miraculously halted, then after closing the “problems were resolved”.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-07-06/broken-stoxx-50-600-feeds-resolved-moments-after-europe-close

Italian banks need many billions of Euros in bailouts. A few days ago I recall reading an analysis which showed that there’s been a net outflow of stocks in over 85% of trading days in the last few months, yet somehow stocks rose in price instead of fell. This could be the start of the next big crash, or the anonymous stock buyers will step in and buy up the falling market again, kicking the can down the road again. Neither will surprise me.

This is as much a “market” as the hargesian goat bubble is, or as much as our “currencies” are wealth. When they need your money, it’s an 8 way highway in. When you want your money back, it’s a prison break out. Best not to even play the game until and unless all the rules are clear and fair for all players.