Reports out this morning suggest American economic growth nearly ground to a halt at the start of 2016.
Figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report the U.S. economy grew only 0.5% in the first quarter of the year. Tepid consumer spending, global headwinds, a struggling manufacturing sector and weak business investment all put the brakes on any progress.
Growth was even lower than economists' anemic expectations of 0.7%. It follows the very slow pace of growth of 1.4% in the last three months of last year.
The Federal Reserve acknowledged that the economy had slowed at its meeting earlier this week. It didn't raise interest rates Wednesday, citing low growth and that household spending had "moderated."
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