Wall Street Journal (02/27/15) Jeffrey Sparshott; Kate Davidson

The economy cooled in the fourth quarter of 2014, growing at an annual rate of 2.2%, down from an initial estimate of 2.6%, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast a growth rate of 2.0%. In contrast, the economy grew at a 5.0% pace in the third quarter and a 4.6% pace in the second quarter. For the year as a whole, gross domestic product grew 2.4%, up slightly from the average 2.2% growth of 2010-13. Despite the uneven growth, the economy is producing jobs, and U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Janet Yellen says she expects a “further gradual decline in the unemployment rate.”

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (02/26/15)

Manufacturing activity in the Plains states expanded just slightly in February, but producers expect activity to pick up moderately in the months ahead. Most price indexes continued to decrease, with several reaching their lowest level since 2009. The month-to-month composite index was 1 in February, down from 3 in January. The production and shipments indexes both moved back into positive territory. In contrast, the new orders index continued to decline, and the employment index decreased from 0 to -4, falling for the second consecutive month.

“We saw a further slowing in growth this month, driven in part by weaker factory activity in our energy states,” says Chad Wilkerson, vice president and economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.