another don't worry be happy story0
Economic slowdown unexpectedly steep in Q4
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Economic growth slowed sharply in the fourth quarter to the weakest pace in three years as consumers spent less robustly, growth in homebuilding eased and businesses were less eager to boost investments, a government report Friday showed.
Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity within U.S. borders, advanced at a 1.1% annual rate in the October-December period — little more than a quarter of the third quarter's 4.1% rate and the weakest for any three months since 0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2002.
Consumer spending, which fuels two-thirds of national economic activity, slowed to a 1.1% annnual rate of growth, sharply below the third-quarter rate and the weakest since a 1% gain in second quarter of 2001.
Fourth-quarter growth was far weaker than the 2.8% rate economists had forecast and reflected widespread softness. Spending on costly durable goods, which include cars and other items intended to last three years or more, plunged at a 17.5% rate. That was the steepest drop in durables spending in nearly 19 years, since a 23.2% fall in the first quarter of 1987.