The U.S. Commerce Department reported that the nation’s gross domestic product grew at a sluggish 2.2 percent pace in the final quarter of last year, one of the steepest downward revisions in years.
The report came a day after stocks on Wall Street and around the globe took a nosedive.
The new reading on GDP showed the economy in a considerably weaker state than the government first estimated. It had initially reported the expansion in the last three months of 2006 to be at a 3.5 percent pace.
The principal reason for the new, significantly lower estimate: Businesses tightened their belts amid fallout from the troubled housing and automotive sectors. (AP)
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