Wall Street Journal (07/31/13) Neil Shah; Ben Casselman; Jon Hilsenrath
The U.S. economy grew at a less than optimal rate in the first half of the year. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the economy grew at a 1.7% annual rate in the second quarter, a tepid pace by historic standards. However, the growth rate was sufficient to ease concerns about a full-blown summertime economic stall. Economists had been concerned that weak global growth and the effects of the sequester would result in even slower growth of less than 1% in the second quarter. The economy grew by a revised 1.1% in the first quarter.