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Show Mill! Despite anxieties as to the possible adverse effects of the soaring of interest rates in 1980 to a second jagged peak within that calendar year and a new all-time high in the prime lending lend-ing rate of leading commercial banks, latest available economic econo-mic statistics have not yet ' borne out the more radical of such forebodings. INDEED, MANY segments of the economy during the third and fourth quarters of 1980 either enjoyed surprising vitality or suffered less than expected despite the year's, second upward spike in interest in-terest rates. The government's initial estimate of third-quarter-I980's "real" Gross National Product (the value of goods and services produced in terms of 1972 months. SPECIFICALLY, government govern-ment economists expected a one percent gain, quarter to quarter. More comprehensive later data resulted in an upward up-ward revision, to an increment of nearly 2' percent. Bated on the consistent upward up-ward trek of the composite of Leading Economic Indicators during'the June-through-November period, the economy eco-nomy appeared to have sufficient suffi-cient momentum to support another increase in the "real" GNP for the final quarter of I960 (initial estimate of this is scheduled for release around publication date of this article). PROJECTION of the Bab-son Bab-son Research Staff is for little change. However, the reading of the Leading Economic Indicators In-dicators for December (also slated for release almost any time now) will be scrutinized carefully for any signs of deep damage that may have been wrought by the prohibitively high interest rates. After stumbling noticeably however, retail trade in terms of physical volume did not perform per-form so admirably; instead, retailing re-tailing was generally lackluster tad spotty throughout the year. THIS INDIFFERENT performance per-formance was not unexpected, in view of the intractably high inflation rate and the two bouts of oppressively high interest rates. Even so, I980's prime selling sell-ing season very late in the year managed to tot up a more active ac-tive rash of consumer spending than had been generally anticipated. antici-pated. WITH SO many of the nation's na-tion's traditionally important industries depressed, or nearly so, during the final two quarters quar-ters of 1980. the economy's ability to right itself so quickly following the ill-fated spring quarter can be credited to such industries as petroleum, natural natu-ral gas, oil field equipment and service, aerospace, defense business and industrial equipment, equip-ment, and the myriad lines in the high technology category. Brisk and rapidly growing early last year, the dollar value of retail trade slowly but steadily recouped its lost ground as 1980 progressed. Because of price inflation, operations in these areas helped to bolster overall industrial in-dustrial production. OF GREATER importance for the future is the fact that a number of these bulwarks of economic activity are directly responsible for young and-or nascent related industries which are destined to grow in concert with their originators. Consequently, job opportunities opportu-nities abound today which were virtually nonexistent only a few years ago in such broad classifications as engineering, en-gineering, research, service and marketing at both staff and managerial levels all of these contributing to the Gross National Product. LITTLE WONDER, therefore, there-fore, that in spite of the troubles trou-bles of some of the major traditional tradi-tional industries basic to our economy, "real" Gross National Na-tional Product (GNP ex-inflation), ex-inflation), employment, personal per-sonal income, and personal consumption expenditures all have fared considerably better O'T the past year or so |