U.S. industrial output falls, signals weak first-quarter GDP growth

U.S. industrial production fell more than expected in March as manufacturing output dropped by the most in a year and mining maintained its downward trend, the latest indication that economic growth braked sharply in the first quarter. Economists say a confluence of temporary factors, including an ongoing problem with the model the government uses to smooth the data for seasonal fluctuations, has contributed to lowering growth in the first quarter. "The first quarter was clearly a dud, but there