What's so gross about it?

Gross Domestic Product is kicked around the news these days. Most recent data has it growing at 2 percent. Better than not growing at all, say liberals. Not growing nearly fast enough, say conservatives. ¶

What is it? ¶

Investorwords.com says it is "the total market value of all final goods and services produced in a country in a given year, equal to total consumer, investment and government spending, plus the value of exports, minus the value of imports." The U.S. Department of Commerce releases the previous quarter's number at 8:30 p.m. on the last day of each quarter.¶

Why do we care about it? ¶

Investorpedia.com says it's one of the primary indicators the country's economic health. If it's up, things are good, unemployment is down, people are spending money, exports are up, etc. ¶

If GDP growth speeds up, you might also sees higher interest rates. If it slows down, regulators might cut rates to spur growth.