US economic growth just 0.5% in first quarter

The US economy grew at a slower-than-expected rate of just 0.5 percent in the first quarter hampered by sluggish consumer spending, the Commerce Department said Thursday. It was the weakest growth since the first quarter of 2014, and followed a modest 1.4 percent in the final three months of 2015, painting a picture of weak momentum in the world's largest economy heading into the second quarter. Consumer spending, which accounts for roughly two thirds of US economic activity, rose only 1.9 perce