Quarterly GDP is always reported with an initial number, then, after more data comes in, a revision is reported.
Fourth-quarter GDP was helped by spending effects of the government's $787 billion stimulus and also by companies restocking their inventories, which they allowed to diminish during the recession.
The question going forward is: How long can positive GDP be sustained as the effects of the stimulus wear off and unemployment remains near 10 percent throughout the rest of the year? Was fourth-quarter GDP a sustainable number or a one-time Red Bull jolt that will collapse once the government stimulus is removed?
By comparison, fourth-quarter GDP in the United Kingdom was revised upward from 0.1 percent to 0.3 percent, illustrating how stagnant conditions are in Europe.