The US economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace from October to December, restrained by the weakest consumer spending in almost a decade.
GDP, the sum of all goods and services produced in the US, expanded at a 0.7 percent annual rate, the slowest since the third quarter of 2001, when the nation was in recession. The economy grew at a 4 percent pace in the third quarter.
While the slowdown may raise questions about a possible double-dip recession, economists said consumer spending likely would rebound in the first three months of this year.
"We will be doing much better by the middle of the year," said Carl Tannenbaum, chief US economist at LaSalle Bank in Chicago, before the report. "We have very, very low interest rates, it's likely that we will get some kind of fiscal stimulus and all of us are hoping that the situation in Iraq will resolve itself, one way or the other, by the middle of the year." Tannenbaum projects the economy will grow at a 2.7 percent pace this quarter.
For all of last year, the world's largest economy expanded 2.4 percent, following a 0.3 percent growth rate in 2001 that reflected the recession that began in March of that year. Many economists agree that contraction ended in either November or December of 2001.
Consumer spending rose at a 1 percent annual pace last quarter. That was the weakest since the first quarter of 1993.
Imports rose by US$14.2 billion in the fourth quarter while exports fell by US$4.7 billion. That left a net trade deficit of US$506.9 billion compared with a US$488 billion gap in the third quarter.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RSS