ASSOCIATED PRESS: The number represents a drop from the 4.6-percent growth of the third quarter.
ASSOCIATED PRESS: The number represents a drop from the 4.6-percent growth of the third quarter.
Consumers did their part in the fourth quarter, pushing up spending by fastest rate in nearly nine years. But businesses investment, trade and government spending weakened.
Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics, said the slowdown is “nothing to worry about.” It was heavily influenced by a swing in the volatile defense spending category, which had jumped sharply in the summer only to reverse in the fourth quarter. He pointed to the acceleration in consumer spending as more indicative of where the economy is headed.
Read more here.
