Wall Street Journal (01/28/12) Josh Mitchell

While the U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in 18 months in the fourth quarter as companies restocked their shelves, underlying weak demand points to slower growth in the months ahead. U.S. gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 2.8% in the October-to-December period, the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Jan. 27, the fastest pace since the second quarter of 2010.

However, growth remained below the 3% pace that many economists say is needed to quickly bring down the unemployment rate. Much of the growth was due to a surge in inventory replenishing by businesses—a trend not likely to last. Many economists expect growth to slow early this year.