Reuters (09/27/12)

The U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 1.3% annual rate in the second quarter, the slowest pace since the third quarter of 2011, the U.S. Commerce Department said in its final estimate today. That was down from last month’s estimate of 1.7% and the initial estimate of 1.5%. Economic growth was much weaker than previously estimated in the second quarter as a drought cut into inventories, setting the platform for an even more sluggish performance in the current quarter against the backdrop of slowing factory activity.

Output was also revised down to reflect weaker rates of consumer and business spending than previously estimated. Economists polled by Reuters had expected second-quarter GDP growth would be unrevised at 1.7%. The economy grew at a 2.0% pace in the January-March period.

CNN (09/27/12)

Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits dropped 26,000 to a seasonally adjusted 359,000 in the week ended Sept. 22, the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. That’s the lowest level since late July. The number was far better than economists were anticipating. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com were expecting the number to fall to 379,000. The average of new claims over the past month, meanwhile, declined by 4,000 to 374,000. Continuing claims decreased by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.27 million in the week ended Sept. 15.

Wall Street Journal (09/27/12) Jeffrey Sparshott; Eric Morath

Orders for durable goods sank 13.2% in August, the biggest one-month decline in more than three years, as bookings for autos and aircraft fell sharply, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported today. That was the biggest decrease since January 2009 and the lowest dollar figure for new orders since February 2011. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected a 5.6% drop in August new orders. The report showed that one key barometer of business investment grew in August. Orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft increased by 1.1%, suggesting a small degree of optimism among companies about the economic recovery.