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THE STORY CNN & MSNBC WON’T REPORT: US Growth Rate Revised Downwards (BBC Worldwide News)
The US economy grew by less than originally estimated between July and September, official figures show.
The latest estimate said the economy grew at an annual pace of 2.2%, down from the previous estimate of 2.8%. The first reading had shown growth of 3.5%.
It is the first quarter in which the US economy returned to growth, after four quarters of decline.
Separately, a report showed new home sales rose 7.4% in November, spurred on by government incentives.
The National Association of Realtors said sales rose to an annual rate of 6.5 million – the highest level in more than two years.
“This clearly is a rush of first-time buyers not wanting to miss out on the tax credit, but there are many more potential buyers who can enter the market in the months ahead,” said the National Association of Realtors’ chief economist Lawrence Yun.
The original deadline for the US government’s tax credits was 30 November. It was later extended.
Mr Yun said: “We expect a temporary sales drop while buying activity ramps up for another surge in the spring when buyers take advantage of the expanded tax credit, which hopefully will take us into a self-sustaining market in the second half of 2010.”
The report pushed stocks on Wall Street higher as the markets closed on Tuesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 50 points, and both the Standard & Poor’s 500 and the Nasdaq indexes closed at new highs for the year.
FOR CONTINUATION OF THIS ARTICLE, CLICK THIS LINK FOR THE BBC: BBC News – US growth rate revised downwards.
