FINANCIAL TIMES: The US economy grew at a robust annualized rate of 2.8 per cent in the final three months of 2011 but there was little sign of rapid growth ahead.
The commerce department’s first reading of gross domestic product growth in the fourth quarter accelerated from a tepid 1.8 per cent in the previous three months but the details of the the report were disappointing.
Almost two full percentage points of growth came from an inventory build-up – unlikely to be sustained – while cutbacks to public spending began to weigh heavily. The government sector, especially defense, knocked almost one percentage point off output… (more)
