Simply put, the GDP report was nothing short of spectacular. Consumer spending rose at a strong 6.6% rate. Business spending, which has been disappointing over the past few years, jumped a whopping 11.1%. The report also indicated that the housing market remained robust. Residential project investments grew by 20.4%, the largest increase in seven years. More encouraging was the fact that growth in government spending was roughly flat, indicating that the American people and businesses were largely responsible for the strong growth, not the federal government.