U.S. economic growth slowed in 2017’s fourth quarter, missing Trump’s targets

The following article by Jeff Stein was posted on the Washington Post website January 26, 2018:

President Trump poses before delivering a speech during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Friday. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

U.S. economic growth slowed in 2017’s fourth quarter, underscoring the difficulty President Trump faces in delivering his promised economic renaissance and increasing pressure on the Republican tax bill to achieve results few independent analysts predict it can.

Federal economists reported Friday the gross domestic product, a broad measure of the U.S. economy, slowed to an annualized rate of 2.6 percent from October to year’s end, breaking a two-quarter streak of growth at an above 3 percent pace.

The economy grew 2.3 percent in 2017, better than the year before, but far short of what Trump is promising. Officials had focused on 3 percent GDP growth as proof his economic policies were working, and Trump has said it could go far beyond that target. Continue reading “U.S. economic growth slowed in 2017’s fourth quarter, missing Trump’s targets”