Economy Watch: Growth Trudges Along at 1.5%; Apartment Vacancies via Commercial Property Executive

The U.S. economy expanded by a tepid 1.5 percent during the second quarter of 2012, according to Friday’s preliminary report by the Department of Commerce. That was a slowdown in growth from the first quarter, when the final estimate turned out to be 2 percent, after being revised upward twice.

Too many second-quarter headwinds were against the economy for it to see increased growth. Consumers are stepping back from spending, businesses aren’t hiring as much as they did, and government at all levels is shrinking. Not only that, net imports — a direct subtraction from GDP — grew during the quarter.

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