Economy

Retail sales slumped 0.9% in January, down much more than expected

Consumers sharply curtailed their spending in January, indicating a potential weakening in economic growth ahead, according to a Commerce Department report Friday.Retail sales slipped 0.9% for the month from an upwardly revised 0.7% gain in December, even worse than the Dow Jones estimate for a 0.2% decline. The sales totals...

Economy

GDP grew at a 2.3% pace in the fourth quarter, less than expected

U.S. economic growth slowed a bit more than expected in the final three months of 2024, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.Gross domestic product, a measure of all the goods and services produced across the sprawling U.S. economy during the period, showed that the economy accelerated at a 2.3% annualized inflation-adjusted...