By Steve Goldstein
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Ahead of Friday's release of gross domestic product data for the third quarter, a MarketWatch-compiled consensus of economist forecasts has dropped to 1.7% from 1.8%. J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo are among those who have cut their estimates. "It was in the core (nondefense, ex-aircraft) capital goods figures where the numbers fell short. Core capital goods orders were flat last month and core capital goods shipments were down 0.3%. These figures may not look so bad until you consider two factors; first, both numbers had been weak over the prior few months and some rebound was expected, and second, both numbers tend to be strong in the third month of the quarter. Topping it all off, both numbers were revised down a decent amount in August," said Michael Feroli of J.P. Morgan.
