The Bureau of Economic Analysis released the final estimate of real GDP growth for the first quarter of 2011, revising growth up to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.9%. This is a sharp deceleration from the growth rate of 3.1% in the fourth quarter of 2010. The leading causes were a slowdown in personal consumption expenditures, from 4.0% to 2.2%, and an increase in imports (which subtracts from GDP growth), which rose by 5.1% after declining by 12.6% in the fourth quarter of 2010. Declining government spending at the federal, state, and local levels also subtracted from GDP growth.

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