U.S. Economic Growth Slows In Q1, But Annual Pace Quickens

Eurozone retail sales fell only slightly this month, but it was the 5th consecutive month, and the worst quarter since the 1st quarter of 2010. Please consider Markit Eurozone Retail PMI® March 2012.

"Unexpected" weakness and downward revisions are hallmarks of the beginnings of recessions. And so it it with durable goods. Economists had forecast a gain, instead there was a 1.6% drop. Moreover July was revised lower as well.

James Picerno submits: The U.S. economy expanded at an annualized 2% in the third quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reports. The rate of GDP increase for July through September is up slightly from Q2’s 1.7% pace, but still well below the 3.7% logged in this year’s first quarter or the robust 5.0% reading from last year’s final three-month stretch.

The economy in the U.S. grew at a faster pace in the first quarter, reflecting the biggest increase in consumer spending in two years as households overcame a drop in incomes by putting less money in the bank.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy likely grew at its slowest pace in nearly two years in the fourth quarter as businesses added less stock to their warehouses and government spending fizzled, setting it up for a difficult start in 2013. Gross domestic product probably expanded at a 1.1 percent annual rate, braking sharply from a 3.1 percent clip in the third quarter, according to a Reuters poll of economists. That would mark the weakest growth pace since the first quarter of 2011 and it would show the economy entering the new year with little momentum.

AS EXPECTED, America's recovery slowed in the first quarter of 2011. At a seasonally adjusted annual rate, real GDP grew by 1.8% in the first three months of the year, down from the 3.1% growth performance in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to the advance estimate of output released this morning. This deceleration came as no surprise; indeed, some recent forecasts projected an even slower rate of growth.

James Picerno submits: Last year’s fourth quarter rise in GDP wasn’t as strong as initially estimated, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reports. That’s discouraging for all the usual reasons, along with the fact that the economy needs all the momentum it can muster if there’s an oil shock coming, courtesy of the turmoil in the Mideast.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy barely grew in the fourth quarter although a slightly better performance in exports and fewer imports led the government to scratch an earlier estimate that showed an economic contraction. Gross domestic product expanded at a 0.1% annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Thursday, missing the 0.5% gain forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll. The growth rate was the slowest since the first quarter of 2011 and far from what is needed to fuel a faster drop in the unemployment rate.