The US economy grew 1.6% in the second quarter, revised down from a first estimate of 2.4%.The figures were better than most analysts had expected. Recent data on the US economy had raised worries that the US was entering a double-dip recession, dragging the rest of the world with it. The revised figure was mostly due to the largest surge in imports in 26 years, and a slower build-up of stocks by companies. Economists had estimated the revision would be sharper for the April-to-June period, down to about 1.3%. Nevertheless, it still marks a big drop on the growth figure for the previous three months, which stood at 3.7%. The US economy has now grown for four straight quarters, although that annualised growth rate averaged only 2.9%. Experts say that the economy needs to grow at about 3% just to keep the unemployment rate, currently 9.5%, from rising. Business investment in new machinery, computers and software drove much of the growth last quarter, increasing nearly 25%. But much of th...
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