US Growth Slowest Since 2011

The US economy slowed sharply in the final three months of the year, the slowest pace since 2011, the Commerce Department reported on Friday, newsmax reported. The first estimate of gross domestic product showed growth of 1.9% in the September-December period, well below the 3.5% pace of the third quarter, and short of the consensus estimate by analysts of 2.2%. For the full year, the economy expanded 1.6%, a full point below the pace of 2015. Exports fell 4.3% in the latest quarter, while imports rose 8%. Together those two factors subtracted 1.7 points from GDP in the quarter. Federal spending fell 1.2%.