US economic growth slows to just 0.5% in first quarter

The economy grew at a slower-than-expected annual rate of just 0.5 percent in the quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday. "The US economy went through a rough patch at the turn of the year, with GDP growth averaging less than 1.0 percent during the past two quarters," said Harm Bandholz of UniCredit Economics. The Commerce Department's first estimate of GDP, to be followed by two more, should also be taken with a grain of salt because of persistent problems in adjusting data for seasonal