News
US Economy's Gains Slow
The American economy grew at a 2.2% clip in 4Q14, official Commerce Department numbers released today show. But economists caution that growth has likely diminished this quarter. Wall Street had forecast an upward revision to 2.4% from estimates reported last month, which remained unchanged. The rate of improvement in the fourth quarter was significantly down from the previous two quarters' 5% and 4.6% gains. And while the labor market has been in robust health recently, other broad economic gauges like consumer spending and durable goods orders have been lackluster. Making matters worse was the brutal winter weather that dented productivity in the Northeast and Midwest. Analysts expect 1Q15 to show sclerotic GDP growth of about 1%. [NYT]
