U.S. economic growth slows to 1.5% in 2Q

Published Jul 27, 2012 at 10:00 am (Updated Jul 27, 2012)

The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 1.5% from April through June as Americans cut back sharply on spending, according to a Commerce Department report out this morning. The slowdown in growth adds to worries that the economy could be stalling three years after the recession ended. The report showed an upward revision of first-quarter growth rate. The department says the economy grew a little better than it previously thought, and raised its estimate to a 2% rate, up from 1.9%. But growth at or below 2% isn't enough to lower the unemployment rate, which was 8.2% last month. And most economists don't expect growth to pick up much in the second half of the year. Europe's financial crisis and a looming budget crisis in the U.S. are expected to slow business investment further. Complete details of today's report are available in the full story here.

Today's poll question: How does your confidence in the U.S. economy today compare to how you felt about it at the outset of 2012?